Over Protectiveness
by Hmob1994
Summary: Luffy's always been surrounded by people who tend to get a little Over Protective. However, will he be able to prove to Zoro that he doesn't always need protecting? Zolu, SmoAce and some SanUso and FraRo
1. Mission One, Success!

**A note from ME! **Okay, I really shouldn't be posting this when I have about three other stories needing to be rescued, (and I _mean_ rescued…) but it's almost done, so I figured a weekly update for a story that's almost finished couldn't hurt…

This is a kind of AU, since I'm acting like chapters 573 and 574 never happened. They don't exist in my world, so don't remind me! *Hides in corner*

Warnings: Yaoi in the forms of ZoLu, SmoAce and a hint of SanUso, Major OOC from Zoro and Smoker, excessive amounts of brain rotting fluff… Need I say more?

Disclaimer: Do chapters 573 and 574 exist? Sadly, yes they do. In my world, that never happened…

**Over protectiveness**

**Chapter one**

"**Mission One, Success!"**

Zoro put down his sixth flagon of sake, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He couldn't help but feel uneasy in the particular bar they were in. In fact, the whole island put him on edge. It wasn't like normal islands on the Grand Line. It didn't have monsters, or egotistic maniacs, or crazy ex-pirates looking for some ancient, long abandoned treasure. In fact, the thing that kicked Zoro out of his comfort zone was the fact that he couldn't find anything unusual about the island. It was ordinary. It wasn't loud, the local inhabitants didn't chase them out of town or throw a party for them, and the silence was annoying Zoro more and more because _a group of men were staring at his captain and no-one but Zoro seemed to notice!_ He was starting to think that so long sailing with Luffy on the Grand Line had started to make him paranoid. Raising a hand, he ordered another flagon of sake, and glanced out of the corner of his eye, ensuring that his hyper captain wasn't getting into any more trouble then he normally got into. Discreetly pouring the sake the barman had given Luffy away while the teenager was absorbed in his large and rapidly shrinking meal, and ordering some water to replace it, the swordsman glanced around the bar again, his frown deepening. The men were now whispering among themselves, and Zoro's hand automatically slid to grip the hilt of his Katana as one of the men stood up and carefully picked his way through the rest of the bar. Glancing to his right, he was relieved to realise that he wasn't the only one to notice the man. Usopp had slid one of his bombs into his catapults, Nami's hand had drifted to her skirt where her Climatact was, Sanji was carefully lighting a cigarette, with his eyes following the man across the room, Chopper had pulled out a rumble ball, Robin was calmly drinking her water, but, like Sanji, kept her eyes trained on the newcomer, and Franky gripped his wrist, revealing one of his many guns. Zoro turned away from the rest of the crew, instead focusing on the man, who had now sat down on the other side of Luffy. His brown hair was long, tied up in a ponytail with a red ribbon. His eyes were chocolate brown, and he was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt which hugged well-developed muscles tightly. Zoro's eyes narrowed. He had always trusted his instincts, and his instincts were screaming at him to scoop up his childlike Captain and get as far away from this mysterious man as possible. However, he had no visible weapons, and nowhere to hide them, and he was just one man, while Luffy had six alert crewmates ready to leap to his defence. Carefully, he forced himself to let go of his Katana, putting his hand on the counter as he picked his flagon up. The rest of the Straw-hats glanced at him out of the corners of their eyes, before relaxing, hands straying away from various weapons.

"You're Monkey D. Luffy, aren't you?" The man asked. Luffy looked up from his meal, and turned to look at the man. He nodded, not bothered with the fact that a complete stranger was sitting uncomfortably close to him. Zoro frowned again as the men's elbows brushed Luffy's, strangely disturbed by the close proximity between Luffy and this stranger.

"I've heard a lot about you. Everyone's talking about the Rookie who's already worth 300 million Belli." The man's voice was deep, and, as he was talking, he had leant in slightly, so now he was even closer to the black-haired teen. Zoro's hand drifted back towards his Katanas. Luffy grinned.

"Really?" He asked, his mouth full. He turned to his first mate, but swallowed before talking, remembering how annoyed the green-haired man had got the last time he had been sprayed with the contents of Luffy's mouth. Zoro was already pretty tense, and had been since they'd gotten off the Thousand Sunny, Luffy had noticed, and he wisely chose not to push his friend over the brink. "Hey, Zoro! Everyone's talking about us!" He exclaimed happily. Zoro nodded noncommittally, noting as he did so that the man was scowling as Luffy ignored him.

"You know..." The man started, determined to catch the 300 Belli rookie's attentions once more. "In the Grand Line, it's not looks or personality that's attractive in a man..." All the crew apart from Luffy instantly tensed once more, hands trailing back towards weapons, quite unable to believe their ears. Was this guy...? No... He couldn't be... could he? Luffy, however, remained quite ignorant.

"It's the size of a guy's bounty..." The man whispered. His and Luffy's noses were almost touching.

The sound of a chair being pushed across the stone floor echoed throughout the bar, oddly loud. Luffy turned, and the man gritted his teeth.

"Zoro?" The Captain asked innocently. The swordsman towered over the two men, his eyes hidden in shadows. Animalistic instincts forced the man to shrink away from the green-haired man's daunting presence, while Luffy just tilted his head and frowned, confused at his friend's actions. Before he could say anything else, Zoro's hand grabbed the back of Luffy's shirt, and the tall man slung his younger friend over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before nodding to the shocked barman, and heading towards the door. Luffy just hung there, his mouth open, trying to figure out what was happening. Everyone in the tavern had stopped talking now, staring at the 420 million Belli pair as Zoro pushed the door open. Nami and Sanji looked at each other as the door slowly swung closed, and the man sat at the bar frowned slightly, before standing up and returning to his friends, bright red with either embarrassment or anger at his failure.

"Oi, Zoro! What are you doing?" Luffy yelled, his arms and legs beating against Zoro's back. His first mate ignored him, making his way slowly through the streets of the town, his thoughts a blur. Why had he felt so angry in the tavern? Why did he still feel annoyed? Was it because some stranger was trying to take advantage of his innocent captain? Was it because Luffy himself didn't even know what the fucker was doing? Or was there... another reason? Zoro growled under his breath. Luffy had stopped struggling, and just hung there, probably pouting, and almost definitely with his arms crossed.

"Oi, Zoro, the ship was the other way." He commented moodily. Zoro felt his face burn.

"I'm not going to the ship." He lied. He continued walking for another half an hour, Luffy swinging slightly. Eventually, he found himself on a grassy cliff – the only things accompanying the two men the grass and a single, large tree – facing the ocean. He could see the Thousand Sunny from where he stood. Not entirely sure how he had ended up on the cliff, Zoro let go of Luffy, who yelped, surprised, as he unexpectedly hit the ground. Walking over to the old tree, Zoro slumped onto the ground, leaned his back against the tree, and closed his eyes, trying to ignore his Captains eyes on him. The two stayed like that for a long time, Luffy staring confused at the green-haired man, while said man kept his eyes firmly closed as he tried to shift through and sort out his thoughts, which were swirling round his head, determined to elude his attempts to make sense of his mind. Eventually, a small, slightly timid voice echoed across the cliff, breaking the suffocating silence.

"I'm sorry..." Zoro opened his eyes, surprised. He looked at Luffy, who had sat down by his feet. The black-haired captain had wrapped his arms around his knees in a strangely vulnerable position, and was staring at Zoro with huge, hurt eyes. Zoro gritted his teeth as heat flooded his face, not knowing why. He put it down to anger at the fact that Luffy was apologizing, when he had nothing to apologize for, and probably didn't even know why he was apologizing.

"Don't apologize." He muttered, crossing his arms. "You have nothing to apologize for." Luffy tilted his head, confused. Suddenly his neck stretched, and Zoro's widened as the younger man almost head-butted him.

"The hell... do you... think... you're doing?" He growled out through clenched teeth. Luffy ignored his angry mutterings, and leant his forehead against Zoro's. Zoro's eyes widened, and even more heat flooded his face.

"Wha... what?" He mumbled. Luffy's head snapped back, and he frowned.

"Zoro's got a fever..." He said, concerned. Zoro raised an eyebrow, and stared at the boy. After sitting against the tree for a few seconds, blushing madly, Zoro started to chuckle. Luffy blinked as Zoro started to laugh harder and harder, before, finding the older man's laughter strangely contagious, started laughing as well. The two sat there for what seemed like hours, just laughing, neither actually knowing what was so funny. Eventually, their laughs petered out, and both sat there in a considerably more comfortable silence. Zoro looked at his childish friend, before waving him over. Confused, Luffy stood up and moved to sit down next to Zoro. Zoro closed his eyes again, and wrapped one arm around Luffy, pulling him down. Luffy's face heated as he lay with his head on Zoro's chest, listening to the steady thump of the swordsman's heartbeat. He looked up as Zoro started talking.

"I'm sorry for hauling you out the bar like that. I kinda lost control there. It just... I felt so... _angry_, watching that guy coming onto you like that..." Zoro trailed off as soft snores reached his ears, and looked down. Luffy had curled up in a ball by his side, his head on Zoro's chest. Zoro chuckled, before closing his eyes, and falling asleep himself.

Nami sat on a barrel on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, annoyed.

"I suppose it was a long shot..." She said, referring to the obvious lack of the Captain and First Mate of their trusty ship. "Those idiots... Why the hell did Zoro get so annoyed? It wasn't like the guy was doing anything to _hurt _Luffy..." She trailed off, and she, Sanji, Franky and Usopp all stared at each other, a light bulb going off in their minds.

"No..." Nami started.

"You don't think...?" Sanji asked, wide eyed. Usopp frowned, and crossed his arms.

"Well, think about what we know about the two of them." He said. Nami frowned.

"Well, I know that Luffy and Zoro met before the rest of us, and that Luffy saved Zoro's life..." She said. Usopp nodded.

"And they are the best at working together, although I always assumed that that was because Luffy couldn't be hurt by guns, while Zoro practically can't be hit with a sword..." Franky sat down on a barrel across from Nami's.

"And Zoro has always shown this crazy loyalty to Luffy..." He added. Nami smiled.

"Yeah, and neither of them show any interest in girls!" She exclaimed. Usopp nodded again. All four of them were starting to get excited by this recent discovery. Above them in the Crows Nest, Robin smiled as she listened to their conversation, and Brooke, who had been guarding the ship, leant against the side of the ship, laughing softly. Chopper sat cross-legged, staring up at his three friends.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" He asked. Urgently, the three humans and the cyborg knelt down, and quickly explained their growing theory.

"Zoro! Luffy!"

"Oi, Marimo!"

"Straw-hat?"

"LUUUFFY!"

"Luffy-san?"

"Luffy, where are you?" The seven remaining members of the Straw-hat crew wandered the well kept streets, ignoring the looks they were receiving from everyone else.

"Think like Zoro, think like Zoro..." Usopp muttered. He picked up Chopper by his fur and hung him over his shoulder. Grabbing three sticks and shoving them through his belt, he paced up and down the street, trying to 'think like Zoro', with Chopper contributing with some Luffy like comments.

"This way!" Usopp exclaimed proudly, pointing at a seemingly random road. Nami frowned. "Are you sure? That's the opposite way to the ship, surely not even Zoro..." She trailed off as she looked at her crewmates expressions.

"You're right, what am I saying?" she said, and the seven of them headed up the road, Chopper still ordering Sanji to make him meat.

Zoro hugged the warm weight closer to him as he heard voices, and kept his eyes firmly shut, determined not to open them until it was absolutely needed. He mentally smiled as Luffy curled closer to him, and in response tightened his grip for a fraction of a second. He felt strangely comfortable, lying like he was, and while some small part of his brain was trying to insist that he shouldn't feel comfortable, it was shouted down by the rest of his brain, which urged him to stay how he was for a few more minutes.

"OI, MARIMO!" Zoro's eyes flew open at the familiar, loud voice right in his ear, and he yelped as he automatically scrambled away from it and almost ended up on top of Luffy, who was now lying on the floor, frowning slightly at the sudden lack of pillow.

"Ero-cook..." Zoro growled, his hand straying to his Katanas. Luffy sat up, and yawned widely, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Oi, Luffy!" Nami said, ignoring Sanji's and Zoro's fight. "The Log has set, we should leave now." Luffy grinned.

"Yosh, let's go!" He yelled happily. Exasperated, the rest of the crew followed, Zoro and Sanji still fighting.

Luffy opened his eyes and frowned. Something wasn't right. Normally, at the end of the day, he could drop to sleep immediately. However, the future Pirate King had been lying in his hammock for a few hours now, and he still couldn't get to sleep. He sat up, ignoring the way his hammock tilted, and slipped off onto the floor. He almost felt nervous as he made his way towards the large shadow on the floor. Kneeling down, he poked Zoro in the side.

"Zoro... Zoooro..." He whined gently. Grumbling, the green-haired man turned to his side, and his eyes fluttered open. He frowned when he looked at Luffy.

"Luffy, I'm not going to help you get past the giant mouse trap again." He grumbled sleepily, putting a hand to his forehead. Luffy shook his head urgently.

"No, I... I wanted to know if I could... Erm..." Zoro frowned, dropping his hand.

"Well? Spit it out already so I can say no and go back to sleep." He snapped. Luffy's eyes widened, and Zoro instantly regretted his words. Just as the rubber man stood up, he grabbed his hand and pulled Luffy down. Wrapping one large, muscled arm around the slim man, Zoro pulled Luffy closer to him so that the younger boy's back was pressed snugly against his chest, and rested his head in the black hair.

"I'm sorry. What did you want?" Luffy was quiet for a moment. Zoro was about to repeat the question when, with difficulty, Luffy turned around in the thick-armed hug, leaning his forehead against Zoro's chest.

"Never mind..." He whispered, before drifting to sleep. Zoro frowned at the boy, before shrugging, and slipping back to sleep.

Neither noticed Usopp, Franky and Sanji's eyes fluttering open, and they both looked down at the sleeping couple below. Cautiously, Sanji slipped a camera out from under the covers, and, ensuring the flash was off, took a quick picture, before stowing it away. He did a quick thumbs up to the other two men.

"Mission one, success!"

**A note from ME! **… Clichéd much?

XD

Preview for the next Chapter: _"My Marimo... not Sanji's..." Zoro raised an eyebrow. Knowing his captain, Zoro couldn't tell if Luffy meant Zoro or food, and he was even more confused by the 'Sanji' Part._

"_Oi, Marimo, you coming to help anytime soon?" Still confused, Zoro stood and made his way back onto the deck, a little bit worried about how jealous he had felt when Luffy had said the cook's name._

Ahem. What can I say? I'm a fluff whore…

Please review! Reviews give me a warm fuzzy feeling, and makes it easier to write…


	2. Mission Two, Success!

**A note from ME! **CHAPTER 2! XD, originally it was going to be a weekly update, but I had nothing to do in class, since it's basically a free period for me, so I finished Betaing this. That way, when I told my teacher that I was correcting spelling and punctuation, I was only slightly bending the truth… XD

This chapters kinda short compared to the first…,

I love the few people that bothered to review… seriously, over a hundred hits, and only five reviews? That's terrible guys!

*Zoro-devil* Are you trying to guilt them into reviewing?

*Me* Oh yeah! Meet a small part of my several people conscience, Zoro-devil and Luffy-angel!

*Luffy-angel* YO!

*Me* OK! Let's answer reviews, so we can start the next fluff filled chapter! Luffy-angel, if you will!

*L-A* Yosh, first review from an anonymous reader called Monika!

*Z-D* Like the girl from Friends?

*Me* XD, thanks, Monika! Kya, thank you! *blushes* NEXT!

*Z-D* A review from Desperatembrace…

*L-A* Oh, dark… :3

*Me* YAH! Thank you! XD, I'm glad that the clichédness wasn't so serious as to put you off… haha…

*L-A* Next one's from Paperbagghost!

*Me* Yah! Fuzzy feeling… *Basks in the fuzzy feeling* Thank you!

*Z-D* Next is Wyvren Wing…

*L-A* Like a chicken wing? Hmmm… I'm Hungry…

*Z-D* Oi oi…

*Me* YAH! FELLOW BRAIN-ROTTING FLUFF LOVER! XD, yah! I love poking at Zoro-kuns mind… And I really enjoyed writing the hammock scene, it's jjust something I can imagine Luffy doing…

*L-A* Here's one from Mcgooen!

*Z-D* Hmm… sounds a bit like a name for crème egg…

*Me* Thank you! I do generally go for cute! XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing… NOTHING! *Cries in corner*

*L-A* She owns us!

*Z-D* Whoop-dee-doo, bring out the flags…

**Chapter 2**

"**Mission 2, Success!"**

Zoro leaned over the side of the Thousand Sunny, and scooped up the anchor which Chopper had pulled up. Hooking it over the side, he turned to see Luffy sitting cross legged against the wall to the cabins, frowning at something on the floor in front of him. Curious, Zoro made his way to his captain, and sat down next to him. Luffy looked up briefly, and gave the swordsman a dazzling grin.

"Good morning, Zoro!" He sung happily. Zoro nodded back, amused by the boys energy so early in the morning.

"Morning, Captain. What are you doing?" He asked. In front of the two was a chess board, with a game already spread across it. On the other side of the board was a pair of Robins arms, which lay crossed as they waited for Luffy's go.

"Robin's teaching me how to play chess! I'm black!" Luffy exclaimed. Zoro nodded, and looked at the board. There was only four black pieces left; the king, the queen, a castle, and a pawn, while almost all of the white pieces were left. Luffy frowned at the board, before reaching out and grabbing his black castle. The sudden cough from Zoro stopped him, and he looked up at the First mate curiously, before slowly letting go of it. Zoro yawned calmly, stretching his arms as Luffy picked his King up, before Zoro jerked his head sharply to the left. Luffy moved his king one space to the left. Above them in the crow's nest, Robin chuckled, and a mouth appeared in the wall between the two men.

"Good move, Captain." She said. Luffy beamed as one of her arms unfurled, and picked up her rook, moving it so that she once again had Luffy's king trapped. Zoro frowned as he stared at the board. In order to 'sharpen his mind', his old teacher had taught him how to play chess. It was a game about strategy, and Zoro had always been very bored of it, despite developing a knack.

"Oi, Luffy, do you mind if I take over? I haven't played chess for a long time..." Luffy looked at his friend, before nodding, and moving over, letting Zoro have a clear view of the board. Carefully, Zoro picked up the castle, moving it and taking out the rook. Besides him, Robin's voice chuckled.

"I wonder how long you'll last." She wondered aloud, moving her own castle to flank Zoro's king. Zoro grinned.

"I think I'll last at least ten minutes." He answered, moving his king safely behind the castle.

"Really? In that case, I'll say five minutes." Robin moved a pawn, and Zoro frowned.

"Didn't I say I'm never going to lose?" He shot back, taking out Robin's queen with his pawn.

Half an hour later, they were still playing. Zoro had managed to get his queen back, but had his pawn taken, while Robin had been reduced to five pieces. Several times the rest of the crew had wandered over to watch, surprised that Zoro was actually doing something which involved brains, before becoming bored with the slow moving game, and returning to whatever they had been doing before. The only person to stay watching the two was Luffy, who was now yawning widely, but, for some reason known only to him, stayed sitting next to Zoro, determined not to move. In the Crows nest, Robin had put her book down, and was now concentrating fully on the game. Looking around the board, Zoro had to admit he was in a pretty bad place. He had two moves; one lost him his queen, while the other would put him into Checkmate if Robin responded in the right way, and, knowing Robin, she would know this. Next to him, Luffy yawned, his eyes fluttering closed, before they snapped open again. Zoro watched for a few minutes as this happened again, and again. The younger boy was determined not to sleep. Eventually, Zoro sighed, before moving his queen and taking Robins last rook. As expected, Robin moved her castle, taking his queen and once again trapping Zoro's king. Zoro snorted, annoyed. He reached out, and was just about to move his king out of check when Luffy's head hit the swordsman's knee. Zoro jumped, and looked down at his captain, who had curled around Zoro like a cat, his head in Zoro's lap, and was now snoring gently. Zoro blinked.

"Oi, Luffy..." He muttered, nudging the rubber man. Luffy moaned in his sleep, before turning his head, mumbling gently under his breath. Zoro felt his face grow hot again, just like it had the day before. He considered pushing the Captain off of his lap, or yelling at him.

"Baka... You should have got more sleep last night." He said instead, to which Luffy responded by curling himself tighter around the teenager. Absentmindedly moving his king, he gently stroked Luffy's hair.

"Concentrate, Swordsman-san." Robin commanded. Zoro's head shot up, and he stared at the board.

"Checkmate." Robin stated. The historian had actually used her king to take out Zoro's castle, and effectively cornered Zoro. Confused, Zoro wondered how he hadn't noticed the opportunity to take Robin's king.

"Well done." He said, standing up. Two of Robin's arms sprouted out of his chest, gently lowering Luffy's head to the ground. Luffy curled up around Zoro's feet, and the green head couldn't help but growl.

"Luffy, let go of my feet." He commanded, to no avail. Uselessly, Zoro tried to pull the childlike man away, but he just stretched, before snapping back. By this point, they had the whole crew's attention.

"What's wrong with Luffy?" Chopper asked. Nami glared suspiciously at Sanji.

"You didn't put anything in his breakfast again, did you?" She demanded. Usopp laughed.

"After the commotion last time? Not even Luffy could get annoying enough for tha..." He trailed off when Sanji didn't meet Nami's gaze.

"You-"

"You Idiot!" Zoro cut over Nami, and the crew looked at him, surprised. _No-one _interrupted Nami. Ignoring their surprised looks, Zoro bent down gently prying Luffy off of his feet, before scooping the Rubber boy up, bridal-style.

"I'll put him in bed. But if he's up all night, Ero-cook, you're the one who's going to stay up to make sure he doesn't break anything." He said, walking towards the cabins. Sanji bristled, but before he could say anything, Nami put out a hand.

"Mission two, success." She stated, as the door closed behind Zoro. Usopp frowned.

"I thought Mission two was them admitting their feelings?" He asked. Nami shook her head.

"No, that's Mission four. Mission two is about building up their feelings, Mission three is them realising their feelings, Mission four is them admitting their feelings, and Mission five is the first kiss." Usopp nodded in understanding. Robin climbed down from the Crows Nest, and smiled.

"What was Mission one, then?" She asked. Nami smiled.

"Gathering evidence so after this is all over, we make lots and lots of money from ZoLu fanclubs." She stated proudly. Robin blinked.

"ZoLu… fanclubs?" Nami nodded.

"I saw some information about some a couple of islands ago. Not only does the entire crew have a fanclub[1], we've all got our own, and there're loads of fangirls who made different clubs. Some of the most popular are ZoLu, which is Zoro and Luffy, ZoSan, which is Zoro and Sanji, and SanUso, which is Sanji and Usopp." Sanji and Usopp blinked, before looking at each other.

"Me… with HIM?!" They asked, shooting away to opposite sides of the deck. They'd both turned bright red, and Robin giggled.

Zoro gently lowered Luffy into the hammock, which rocked dangerously, and caused the red-clad boy to quickly fall over the side. Frowning, Zoro scooped him back up. Leaving him in the hammock wasn't an option, as he'd just fall straight back out... He could just leave him on the floor with a blanket or something, but, despite the amount of times the future pirate king had camped out on a forest floor, something inside Zoro protested against the thought of leaving Luffy in such an uncomfortable position.

"What the hell is wrong with me at the moment?" He wondered out loud, crossing the cabin and deposited Luffy onto Zoro's own bed, snagging the abandoned blanket off the floor and throwing it over him. He turned to leave when something wrapped around Zoro's wrist.

"Ne... Zooooorooooo..." Zoro raised an eyebrow as Luffy moaned in his sleep. He knew Luffy talked in his sleep, and that, according to Nami, they answered him in their sleep, but this didn't sound like Luffy's normal sleep talking. This sounded like an echo of a dream to Zoro, and, almost eagerly, he knelt down to listen. Luffy was silent for a few minutes, with only the sound of his snoring to interrupt the silence, when, once again, he spoke.

"My Marimo... not Sanji's..." Zoro raised an eyebrow. Knowing his captain, Zoro couldn't tell if Luffy meant Zoro or food, and he was even more confused by the 'Sanji' Part.

"Oi, Marimo, you coming to help anytime soon?" Still confused, Zoro stood and made his way back onto the deck, a little bit worried about how jealous he had felt when Luffy had said the cook's name.

Luffy sat up, and pouted. For the second night in a row, he couldn't get to sleep. After a few hours of drug-induced sleep, Luffy had woken up to find himself in Zoro's bed, but he had soon shrugged it off, and made his way up to the deck, where Sanji had just been serving lunch. Now it was night again, and everyone was peacefully sleeping. Everyone, that is, apart from their hyperactive captain. Rolling out of the hammock and landing on the floor with a loud thud, Luffy stood up and made his way over to Zoro's bed. Crouching down, Luffy stared at the back of Zoro's head, and reached out.

Poke.

Poke poke.

Poke poke poke.

"Luffy, if you can't get to sleep, just get in the bed." Zoro's low voice grumbled through the room, making Luffy jump in surprise. "Don't bother waking me up." Grinning, Luffy climbed onto the bed and curled up next to Zoro. After a few seconds he frowned, and scrambled out of the bed again. Zoro mentally groaned.

"Now what are you doing?" He muttered. Luffy stepped over Zoro and lay down between him and the wall, squirming into tanned muscled arms. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath.

That didn't stop him wrapping his arms tightly around his younger captain.

**A note from ME! **Kyaaaa! Zoro's soooooo in denial! XD

Preview for the next chapter:

_Usopp lowered the telescope and called down from the Crows nest to the rest of the crew, who were all lounging about lazily on the deck, unwilling to do anything that involved strenuous work, or, indeed, any kind of movement under the bright, mid-day summer sun._

"_Oi, I think there's someone in trouble! It's quite a long way away, but I can definitely see something!" Luffy looked up from where he'd been trying to persuade Sanji to make him something to eat._

EEEEH! Who is it? Who is it?

*L-A* You mean you don't know?

*Me* Of course I do!

*L-A* But you said…

*Z-D* never mind, Luffy, never mind…

Review, and I'll throw in a little extra SmoAce fanservice!

*Z-D* But you've already written the SmoAce stuff…

*Me* Don't tell them that!

*L-A* Why not?

*Me* Alright! See you guys next time!

[1] I wondered about this… bands and stuff have fanclubs today, so really, it'd be totally plausible for a pirate crew to have a fanclub in the One Piece world, right?


	3. Oh My God

**A note from ME! **IT'S THE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!

Drumroll, please! The mystery character mentioned in last chapters preview IS…

Well, you have to read the chapter and see!

*Luffy-angel* EEEEH?!

*Zoro-devil* Baka…

*Me* Well, can I please have the reviews from last chapter?

*Z-D* Hai, hai… first is another review from Wyvern Wing.

*Me* KYA! Yaah, arigatou! And no problem! Don't worry, SmoAce's time will come… with LOTS of fluff… Hehehehe…

*L-A* Huh? No food? *Tears up*

*Z-D* Grr, who you calling silly…

*Me* You, silly! *Pokes nose.*

*L-A* NEXT REVIEW! Another one from Mcgooen!

*Me* Yah, I feel loved! :3 XD, Denial!Zoro really is adorable, isn't he?

*Z-D* Oi, oi…

*Me* And here's the update you asked for!

*Z-D* Next is book-zealot.

*Me* Yeap, Nami is just that sort of person! That's the annoying thing about my writing… I can get the supporting characters personalities right, but the personalities of the people I'm focusing on goes TOTALLY OOC…

*L-A* Next is SetsuUzumaki!

*Me* Yaah! I'm not the only one who thinks it's plausible! Lets make one together!

*Z-D* and finally, Just anie6142

*Me* Cool name… I've got a friend called Annie… AND She likes ZoLu… XD Anyway, thank you… And, I'm afraid it's not just a cruel joke… I really wish it was… But then again, if it was, I'd kill Oda-sensei for scaring me like this… XD

*L-D* QUICK! Move on before she goes to the Emo Corner!

*Z-D* HAI! Hmob1994 owns a Straw-hat, and two One Piece CD's, but (thankfully) doesn't own the original characters!

*Me* HEY! Zoro-kun, that's mean!

**Chapter 3**

**Oh my God...**

Ace sat on a large piece of thin metal, staring glumly at his boat, which was now lying in several pieces and drifting further and further from him. The piece of metal he was on tilted from side to side, letting on a lot of seawater and preventing him from using his devil fruit abilities to even get to the closest island.

"Stupid geyser's..." he muttered venomously. He hadn't even known you _could_ get geysers in the sea, and he was pretty sure that, even if you could, they shouldn't get all the way to the sea surface. He supposed anything was possible in the Grand Line, but still, the sea had to have _some _degree of logic to it... Right? He looked around, wondering if his devil's luck would pull through this time. He grinned as he spotted a ship just appearing on the horizon. Obviously it would. Fishing in his trouser pocket, he pulled out a small telescope and snapped it open, peering through it. The ship was too far away to clearly see its sails, even through the telescope, but it was definitely heading towards him. Carefully standing up, Ace raised one arm, and waved, praying to whatever god was willing to listen to him that that someone on the ship would see him.

* * *

Usopp lowered the telescope and called down from the Crows nest to the rest of the crew, who were all lounging about lazily on the deck, unwilling to do anything that involved strenuous work, or, indeed, any kind of movement under the bright, mid-day summer sun.

"Oi, I think there's someone in trouble! It's quite a long way away, but I can definitely see something!" Luffy looked up from where he'd been trying to persuade Sanji to make him something to eat.

"Really?" He called. Stretching his arms, he pulled himself up into the Crows nest next to the sniper and looked through the telescope.

"Yeah, there is!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Full speed ahead! Let's save the mystery person!" Zoro climbed up next to them and took the telescope off them, seeing for himself.

"But what if it's a marine?" Usopp pointed out. Zoro lowered the telescope and raised an eyebrow.

"A marine wearing an orange hat and no shirt?" He asked sceptically. Confused, Luffy snatched the telescope back and looked though it again. When he put it down, he was grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

Ace grinned when the boat he'd been watching picked up speed, heading straight towards him. His grin widened when he picked out a grinning skull and crossbones wearing a straw-hat fluttering in the wind on the sails.

However, his grin disappeared when two rubber arms shot out from the boat and wrapped around his waist. In fact, his eyes widened in a look of pure horror.

"No... Oh, please no..." He whimpered. However, his pleas were obviously not heard or ignored, because the pyromaniac soon found himself flying through the air at break-neck speed towards the Thousand Sunny.

Zoro ducked as Ace flew over his head, and winced sympathetically as Luffy's brother went crashing into the mast of their trusted ship, which creaked dangerously at the impact.

"Whoops, sorry Ace." Luffy called from the figure head, not looking very sorry at all. A string of muffled curses aimed at the rubber boy could be heard as Ace tried and failed to pull his head out of the mast. Luffy laughed as Sanji, Zoro, Franky and Chopper all wrapped their arms around the topless man and tried to pull him out of the mast. After a few moments of pulling, Ace left the wood with an almost audible pop, and all four of them went sprawling across the deck of the Thousand Sunny. Franky stared incredulously at the hole in the mast.

"That's solid wood..." He wondered, half in amazement and awe, and half in annoyance.

"You could have helped..." Zoro growled at Luffy, who was still sitting on the figure head, laughing. The ex-pirate hunter sighed as he stood up, mentally reminding himself what a stupid thing that was to say. Like Luffy would ever do the sensible thing.

"Thanks for saving me." Ace said politely as he stood up. Nami smiled.

"It was no problem. Like we'd leave you behind!" Zoro frowned.

"Did you even do anything?" He asked. Nami's veins in her forehead throbbed, and she stamped on Zoro's foot. As Zoro hopped around the deck, clutching his aching foot, Luffy slipped off the figure head and moved to stand near his older brother. Fondly, Ace ruffled Luffy's hair.

"Oi, oi, Ace! We've got three new Nakama! Come and see, come and see!" Zoro watched as Luffy dragged his brother away to meet Robin, Franky and Brooke, excitement clear on his face. He had a kind of Childish innocence about him, even when you thought of all the Marines and Pirates he had taken down, and how ruthlessly strong he was. It should be illegal for someone so childlike to be so invincible, although it might have levelled itself out. If he wasn't so invincible, he would have been taken advantage of a long, long time ago. But thanks to his strength, it was hard for anyone to beat him up, and he had found Nakama like Zoro, who was less trusting of the world in general. In a way, it all sorted itself out. Zoro frowned as he remembered the incident a few days before, a classic example of someone trying to take advantage of his childish captain. If Luffy had been there on his own... if Nami hadn't insisted that they all went to a pub together to establish a meeting place... if the man had been a bit more forceful, a bit more cunning, or a bit stronger...

What would have happened?

"Oi, Marimo..." Zoro's head shot up, and he turned to where Sanji was walking up the stairs towards the figure head. The blonde cook leaned on the rails next to where Zoro was sitting.

"What?" Zoro snapped. Infuriatingly calm, Sanji stroked a match against his shoe, before lighting his cigarette. Blowing out a long stream of smoke, the blond turned to look out at the sea. Zoro gritted his teeth.

"What?!" He snapped again. Sanji looked at him.

"You're really protective of him, aren't you?" This only served to make Zoro more confused.

"Huh?"

"Even though we all know he's strong enough to look after himself, you're always watching him, like an overprotective mom..." Sanji shrugged, and, shoving his hands in his pockets, started to walk away, before stopping, as if an idea had suddenly hit him.

"Oh! I get it!" Turning again, the curly-eye browed man pointed at Zoro, his finger hovering a few centimetres from the Swordsman's face. Zoro blinked.

"You are in love!" Sanji exclaimed. Zoro frowned.

"Wha... what?"

"Ah, you poor innocent soul!" By this point, Sanji was dancing around the deck. "Pledging your life to protect him since the day you met, I'll bet... Such pureness! Such dedication!" Zoro stared, still confused, and growing angrier at the whole bewildering situation.

"Swirly-brow, if you don't tell me what the hell you're talking about in the next five seconds, you'll find those precious hands of yours lying somewhere in the water strapped to the anchor." Zoro finally snapped. Sanji bristled, and spun round, about to start a fight with the swordsman when a small rock bounced off his head.

"Oi, keep to the script!" A voice hissed. Zoro looked up, and sweatdropped when Usopp started and ducked back into the Crows nest. Wondering what the hell the two idiots were doing, he turned his attention back to the blond cook.

"I'm talking about you and Luffy, of course!" Sanji was saying, as he wrapped one arm around Zoro's muscular shoulders, as Zoro grit his teeth, trying to stop himself from punching Sanji in the mouth.

"What about me and Luffy?" He ground out. Sanji smirked evilly.

"L.O.V.E." He spelt out. His grin widened when Zoro turned red.

"Wha... what are you blabbering about?" He stammered. Sanji leaned in closer.

"Just between you and me..." He whispered in Zoro's ear. "I've seen the way you look at him. In fact, the only one who DOESN'T know about your feelings is Luffy..." Zoro looked at the cook, and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't love Luffy." He stated. Sanji raised his eyebrows, and looked at him, as if he was trying to figure out how to tell the swordsman that he was an idiot without losing his head.

"I don't! Don't you think that I'd be the first one to know whether I love someone?" Zoro exclaimed. Sanji chuckled, shaking his head.

"Marimo, you'd be the last one to know." The cook said as he walked away. Zoro watched him, before shaking his head, confused.

"Damn Ero-cook doesn't know what he's talking about..." He muttered, sitting down against the railings and closing his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Ace sat down in the kitchen, stretching and yawning. As always, Luffy had been an excitable ball of rubber, dragging him to every corner of the ship and introducing him to the straw hat's latest crewmembers. However, after half an hour of that, Nami called him away to help with cleaning the deck. Much as he hated himself for it, Ace had to admit that he was a little relieved that the younger boy's attention had been taken off of him. Too much of Luffy tended to cause exhaustion or injuries.

"Ah, Ace! I was looking for you!" Ace looked up as Nami stepped into the kitchen. He smiled at the navigator, a bit warily. He wasn't really sure about her. She seemed like a nice person, but he was starting to understand that she wasn't someone you wanted to get annoyed. He watched her as she sat down next to him, and put her hands to her mouth, leaning forward and whispering urgently into the older boy's ear. After a few seconds, Ace shot away from her.

"WHAT!?" He yelled, jumping up and cracking his knuckles.

"That _bastard_... When I get through with him, he'll wish he'd never even laid eyes on him!" Nami stood up behind him.

"No no no, Ace! Listen, listen!" There were a few more minutes of whispering, occasionally interrupted by Ace, exclaiming "Really?" "Are you sure?" and, once "They haven't... no? Oh..." until eventually Nami stopped, and looked up at the man, smiling victoriously. Ace thought about it for a moment.

"So... you want me to help?" Nami nodded.

"And... you think this will make him happy?" Another nod.

"Oh..." After a few minutes of silence, Ace nodded.

"Ok. I'll do it!" And he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Nami blinked, taken by surprise.

"Um... thank you?" She said to the empty kitchen.

* * *

Luffy dumped the rough wooden mop back into the equally rough wooden bucket, and grinned. He looked around the ship. Robin was high in the Crows nest, reading as normal. Chopper was sitting by the mast, grinding up some herbs, as Sanji went past him carrying an armful of fish which had just been caught by Usopp, who was fishing, his legs dangling over the side of the Thousand Sunny. Franky was sitting on the deck, making something which looked shiny and complicated, while the gentle violin music drifting out from the door to the cabins betrayed Brooke's location. Zoro was lying by the figurehead, sleeping peacefully. Occasionally his head would turn, and he'd mutter something under his breath, before calming down again. Curious, Luffy started to walk towards his first mate when a voice stopped him.

"Oi, Luffy!" Luffy glanced over his shoulder, and grinned, Zoro momentarily pushed out of his mind.

"Ace!" Luffy's older brother smiled at his excited look.

"You're pretty close with your crew, aren't you?" Luffy nodded, still grinning.

"Who would you say your favourite is?" Luffy frowned. Favourite? He wasn't sure he had a favourite... Brooke was a living skeleton, which was really cool, and played music...Franky was funny and cool, and always had a way to cheer people up, plus he made awesome weapons... Robin was kind, always smiling, and always ready to help the rest of the crew, and was really, _really _smart... Chopper was warm and fluffy, and really funny... Sanji cooked delicious food, and it was hilarious when he met a pretty girl... Usopp was really good at telling stories, and invented lots of funny things... Nami was strict, and sometimes mean, but she was still his Nakama, and had moments when she was kind as well, and give him yummy oranges...

Zoro... Zoro was always sleeping, and was occasionally mean, especially when he's just woken up, but he was Luffy's first Nakama. The first person to call him captain. Zoro was always there when Luffy was in trouble, always there to stop a sword, always ready to dive into stormy waters. With Zoro, Luffy felt safe and comfortable, as if the tall mans very presence was enough to keep him out of danger.

"Zoro. Definitely Zoro." Ace grinned.

"Jeez, you're so dense, sometimes." Luffy looked up, confused.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing..." Grinning, Ace walked away. Luffy watched him go, still confused, but shrugged as he grabbed the bucket and mop, carrying it back towards the cabins.

* * *

Luffy curled up into a small ball in his hammock, which rocked dangerously. He looked around. As Usopp was on lookout that night, Ace had been given his hammock until they could get round to remaking his boat. Apparently, it would be easy to remake it, as long as Ace had the right materials, which he would hopefully get at the next island they stopped at. Luffy frowned slightly as he watched Ace rocking gently in the hammock next to his. His older brother's comments from earlier had bothered Luffy slightly. Surely, as captain, he shouldn't have favourites in his crew, should he? But in most crews, the first mate was the Captains best friend, right?

But Luffy thought that all of the Straw-hat pirates were his best friends... and he didn't get the same fuzzy feeling he got with got with Zoro whenever he was with any of them... And what did Ace mean by "You're so dense sometimes"? Was there something he didn't know? Luffy sighed, rolling over. And he still couldn't get to sleep. The last two days, he'd thought that the reason he couldn't sleep was that he'd slept during the day, but, now he thought about it, when he had climbed into bed next to Zoro, he'd fallen straight to sleep. And he hadn't slept during the day that day... Ah, it was all so confusing!

Frowning, Luffy almost didn't realise what he was doing as he slipped out of the hammock and made his way across the room for the third night in a row. Crouching down, his finger was a centimetre away from Zoro's side when his husky voice filled the room.

"Luffy, what did I say last night?" Luffy paused, then smiled and lay down next to Zoro, who obligingly wrapped his arms around the slim boy. Luffy buried his head into Zoro's chest, and, after a moment's hesitation, Zoro rested his chin on top of the dark mane of hair, closing his eyes again.

Zoro, surprisingly, couldn't get to sleep either. He'd never had trouble falling asleep before. It was... unsettling...

The words Sanji had said were whirling around his mind, refusing to leave his brain no matter how hard he tried to chase them out.

Was it possible? Could he, Roronoa Zoro, the man striving to become the best swordsman in existence, who had never felt love before, and ignored all outward attractiveness possible be in love with his clumsy, over-excited, immature captain? Did any of those things even matter when it came to Luffy? The dark haired boy had some way of twisting the world to his advantage. Sooner or later, Luffy became the sun, pulling everything towards him, and everyone had no choice but to orbit around him. He was certainly bright enough to be the sun...

Luffy cuddled closer to Zoro, feeling amazingly comfortable in the older man's strong embrace.

Zoro felt his heart leap as the smaller boy curled against his side, his skin prickling at the contact.

Two pairs of eyes opened in the dark, wide with sudden realisation.

_Oh my god... I'm in love with him..._

**A note from ME! **REALISATION! MWAHAHAHAHA!

*Cough, hack, choke*

PREVIEW TIME! : _Ace scowled as he made his way back towards the Thousand Sunny through torrential rain. He kicked viciously at a nearby stone, and it went flying. A second later the sound of smashing glass filled the air, but Ace ignored it, still scowling. The island had been completely useless for finding material for his boat... Around every corner were stalls dedicated to the funfair, or rides, or people in strangely erotic clothes..._

_However... Ace's scowl disappeared to be replaced by a sly smirk. The more time he had to take to find the necessary materials for his boat, the more time he would spend on the Thousand Sunny, and the more fun he could have terrorizing Zoro..._

XD, Ace is evil…

*Z-D* WHY MUST YOU TORTUE ME SO?!?!

*Me* Because it's fun.

*L-A* *Giggles*

*Me* Review, and I might consider posting the next chapter up quicker!

*Z-D* How is that meant to tempt ANYBODY?

*Me* Well, the next chapter is called "The first date"

*Z-D and L-A* Oooooh…

*Me* SEE YA! XD


	4. The first date?

**A note from ME! **YAH! Next Chapter! XD I'm so excited about this one! It's my longest and most fluff filled one yet! I considered splitting it into two, but decided that that's too cruel to you guys, so her you go! XD

REVIEWS! REVIEWS!

*Zoro-devil* Seriously, what's wrong with you today?

*Luffy-angel* She drank orange Juice.

*Z-D* Ah… Well, first review is from Desperatembrace…

*Me* Yah! XD, yeah, Zoro and Luffy are so dense sometimes…

*Z-D* Oi oi…

*L-A* Next is Paperbagghost!

*Me* NEVER FEAR! You no longer have to wait! In fact, you don't even have to read this, you can scroll straight down to the story!

*Z-D* *Yawns* Next is Wyvern Wing…

*Me* Yah! Hey, do you think I should make nicknames for the more regular reviewers?

*L-A* Like Chiken?

*Me* Um… No, like Wyvern-chan…

*L-A* Oh… Hehe!

*Me* Anyway, thank you! XD, I love Ace, he's so responsible, yet comical at the same time! And I can imagine Sanji and Usopp doing this sort of thing in the real One Piece… XD

*L-A* YAH! COOKIES! Arigatou! *Offers one to me and Z-D*

*Me* Ty ty! XD *Takes one*

*Z-D* Hmm… Cookies a childish… *Takes one anyway*

*L-A* *With mouthful* Nexst ist froms Just anie6142…

*Me* Torture Zoro! He can take it, he's a strong man! XD I'm glad it cheered you up, that is my ultimate goal to the day! Hmm, I think I shall call you Anie-chan. XD

*Z-D* Hmph… Next is Lectori Salutem…

*Me* HEY! New Reviewer! XD, it's very sweet… Lol, love the implications of that sentence… XD

*L-A* Huh? What implications? Oh well, next is another new reader called Yu-sama111…

*Me* Heya! XD Here's the next Chapter! And sure, you can be in it, but I'm afraid it'll only be a small part, since I've got most of the story worked out… Just describe yourself in a PM to me, and I'll do it! XD And if anyone else wants to be a part of my fluff-filled-madness, you can just do the same!

*Z-D* Oh god, the stories gonna become full of Yaoi fangirls… Oh well, final one is from another Anonymous called Theifkingbakura.

*Me* Hey, Yu-Gi-Oh reference! XD anyway, thanks! Zoro isn't the brightest of the bunch, so I figured that he probably wouldn't notice himself… XD

*Z-D* *Twitches* Holy Crap… Ace is gonna be on a rampage, isn't he?

*Me* Maybe… XD

Anyway, here you go! I don't own it, blahdy blahdy blah and POOF!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**First Date?**

Nami stretched her arms and yawned as the peak of the sun started to appear on the horizon. Next to her, Zoro lifted the anchor, hanging it over the side of the ship to stop it falling back down. She watched in interest as the tall man turned, and kept turning, his face now bright red. Nami looked over her shoulder, and smirked when she saw what had made the normally stoic man react that way. Luffy had just come out of the cabins, yawning widely. His red top was open, showing defined muscles which seemed to bulge as the rubber man stretched, still yawning. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at his two first crewmates, and grinned at Nami. However, the grin slipped off of his face when he saw Zoro, to be replaced by a light pink dusting across his cheeks. Hurriedly, he turned and ran towards the kitchen.

"It's about time you realised." She commented to Zoro.

"Shaddup." The swordsman snapped, still blushing. Then he looked at Nami, frowning.

"Wait, you knew?" He asked suspiciously. Nami raised her eyebrows.

"Zoro, everyone knew."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

"Not... not _everyone_... right?"

"Everyone on this ship, apart from Luffy."

"Even Chopper?"

"Even Chopper."

"Wait..." Zoro's face paled, and Nami almost felt concerned for the green-haired man.

"_Everyone _on the ship? Even... Even..." Zoro cautiously turned to look at the Cabins, where Ace was slowly walking out. The Pyromaniac smirked evilly.

"Yes, Zoro. _Everyone._" Nami said apologetically, neglecting the fact that it was her who'd told Luffy's protective, stronger and older brother. Zoro turned his head back to stare at the sea ahead of him, and Nami had to admire the way he didn't flinch when Ace moved to stand next to the man, putting a hand on Zoro's broad shoulders.

"So, I hear you've taken a fancy to my little brother, have you?" Ace whispered calmly. Zoro Gulped. [1]

"I... I suppose I have." He answered, his voice only cracking a little bit. Ace smiled friendly, like a shark pretending to be a dolphin. He'd let the swordsman stew for a while, the Fire-user decided. Let him stew; think of several hundred delightful ways to be burned alive. He waited until Zoro was squirming before Ace put the taller man out of his misery.

"If I ever see Luffy with an unhappy face, or I hear that he's not smiling as often, then, I can assure you, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, you won't be alive long enough to explain why." Zoro tensed slightly, the hair on the back of his neck prickling. However, before either man could say anything, Usopp broke the tension.

"Oooooooi! I see an Island!" Luffy leapt to the figure head, slightly resembling a large, straw hat wearing, rubber puppy who was about to be given a new toy, or maybe just a slight, straw hat wearing, rubber man who was about to be given meat.

"Island! It's an Island! Oi, Nami, Ace, Zoro! It's an Island! Chopper, Robin! There's an Island! Brooke! Franky! Sanji! There's a-"

"Yes Luffy, we figured it out the first few times you told us." Nami interrupted. She smiled. Luffy loved the sea, that much was obvious, but at the same time, he hadn't been able to blow off any of his pumped up energy for a couple of weeks now. There'd been no Marine attacks; no evil Pirates... hell, at this point, even a pub brawl would suffice for Luffy!

"Zooooorooooo!" Zoro looked up, and his eyes widened as a big red and blue ball of rubber came shooting towards him. Even with the early warning, Zoro had no time to grab hold to something before Luffy collided into his chest. Ace stepped smartly out of the way as the two smashed into the side of the kitchen.

Zoro's eyes fluttered open, and he had to blink a couple of times to get the blurriness to disappear from his vision. When he could think properly, Zoro looked around him. He seemed to be stuck half-way into the wall of the kitchen. Franky and Usopp was fussing about the state of the woodwork, Sanji, the bastard, was yelling about the state of his kitchen, Chopper was fussing about Zoro's head, Brooke was leaning over him, probably worried, though Zoro couldn't tell, as the skeleton didn't have a face to show emotions, Nami and Ace, the bastards, were laughing, Robin was still reading, and Luffy, the _biggest _bastard, was...

Luffy was curled up on Zoro's chest, looking up at him with huge, innocent eyes, apologizing over and over. Zoro felt his face heat up, and struggled to push it down, resolving to give his captain his iciest glare yet.

"Luffy..." He growled. Luffy's face fell slightly, and Zoro forced himself to calm down, knowing that shouting at the boy would only upset him, and, at the same time, earn him a one-way ticket to Burnsville, Paid, Delivered and Driven by one Portgas D. Ace.

"Why did you do that?" Zoro asked eventually, speaking in his calmest tones. Luffy hung his head, still kneeling on Zoro's chest.

"I'm sorry... I wanted Zoro to come with me to the Island..." He said, and Zoro blanched at the fragile voice he was using.

"I, um... I was going to stay on the Thousand Sunn..."

"Of course Zoro will come with you, Luffy!" Sanji butted in, helping the rubber boy up.

"Nothing will make him happier... _will it, Zoro?_" Zoro paled at Nami's tone of voice, and the way both her and Ace cracked their knuckles threateningly when Luffy turned his head to look at the sword-wielder.

"Uh... yeah, sure..." Zoro eventually stuttered out.

* * *

Luffy darted from one store to another, gasping and pointing at everything he saw. The two were at a funfair, and Luffy had already dragged them onto a ghost train which failed to make either one of them even jump, a Merry-go-round which looked like it was going to give at any minute, and a rollercoaster which went at about five mph and creaked at every turn. Every so often, Zoro felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, and he would stop running after Luffy and look around, trying to discover who was watching them. Because there was someone watching them. Zoro was sure of it.

"Zoro! Look at this!" Luffy called over to the swordsman. Zoro calmly walked towards the black haired boy, and looked at what he had found this time. He was expecting a plastic skeleton, like the last stall, or a huge bag of multi-coloured candyfloss, like the stall before that. Zoro blinked, surprised but too skilled to show it, when he saw what the pirate captain was holding.

It was a long, silver necklace, long enough to easily slip over someone's head. The charm that dangled in the air, glistening and sparkling in the bright multi-coloured lights, was a silver Pirates skull and crossbones, three smaller chains hanging from it, one on the end of each bone, and one from the skulls manic grinning mouth. Zoro had to admit, it was well made, and Luffy's eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched the Jolly Roger spin and sparkle.

"How much is it?" Zoro asked the old, wrinkled woman who was running the stall. She was ancient, and looked not much more than a pile of blankets. She opened her mouth in a toothless grin, showing empty space where there should have been a tongue. The stall she was running was covered in shiny chains like the one Luffy had picked up, and a plastic ice-cream box full of charms sat on in the corner. The woman looked at the necklace for a moment, before pointing at one of the pieces of cards which was propped up next to each of the necklaces. Zoro pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, paying the old woman, who examined each note carefully, before accepting it. She grabbed the box of charms and rattled it under Luffy's nose. When the Rubber man hesitantly took it, she held up three fingers, before pointing to the charms, then the necklace.

"I think she wants you to choose three charms." Zoro said when Luffy glanced at him. Grinning, Luffy sieved through the charms, examining each one. Eventually he put the box down, and held out his hand.

"Got some!" He said. The old woman took the charms, examining them. She looked from Luffy to Zoro, and then back again, before nodding, and holding out her hand, beckoning to the necklace still clutched in Luffy's tight grip. Hesitantly, Luffy gave it to her, and watched in fascination as the woman forced the link on each of the charms to join with the last link of each of the three hanging chains, before grabbing a soldering iron and a reel of solder and carefully joining it all together. She handed it back to Luffy, and bowed to the Pirate Captain, before winking to Zoro. Zoro nodded in return, and gently steered Luffy away while he was still yelling thank you at the top of his voice.

"What charms did you put on?" Zoro asked Luffy, curiosity getting the better of him. Luffy grinned up at the taller man, and showed him the necklace. Dangling from the Jolly Roger were three small, silver swords. However, before Zoro had time to ask any questions about Luffy's choice, the swordsman found himself being dragged through the crowd again as something else caught the pirate's eye.

* * *

Hiding behind one of the brightly coloured stalls while it's owner stared at them, confused, Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Ace all breathed sighs of relief.

"That Shitty Marimo is too paranoid..." Sanji muttered. 'That Shitty Marimo' had already almost caught the four pirates following the two twenty-seven times now. Usopp nodded.

"Although, we _are _stalking them..." He started. Ace interrupted the long-nosed man.

"We're not stalking. We're making sure that bastard doesn't lay a hand on my little brother." He said. Nami rolled her eyes.

"Well you may be, but I'm here in the hope that he _does_. Come on, we're losing them!"

* * *

"Hey, Zoro! Look, it's a Ferris wheel!" Luffy yelled, once again grabbing the swordsman's hand. Zoro let the rubber-man drag him over to the gaudy, bright wheel, and shoved his hand into his pocket, paying the ticket-guy as he was hauled through the booth and into a metal cage that served as a carriage. The door was slammed shut as Zoro sat down and raised an eyebrow at the worrying strap across his lap, and the wheel moved, only to stop a few seconds later. Luffy rocked backwards and forwards as he looked around and peered through the bars of the cage. The entire cage rocked with him. Luffy stopped, and looked at Zoro, who returned his grin. Together, they both threw themselves forwards in their seats, and Luffy yelled in surprise and glee as they suddenly went spinning head over heels in a complete circle. He blinked, and then laughed, and demanded that they did it again.

Below them, Nami, Ace, Usopp and Sanji paused, unsure what to do.

"I suppose we just... wait until they get off..." Usopp ventured. Ace shook his head.

"No, that's his plan! He's going to wait till they're at the top, and then have his way with poor Luffy!" Around the black-haired man, patches of grass started to char. The other three stared at him.

"Um... Ace? Could you maybe... cool it a little?" Nami asked hesitantly, as a pile of cardboard boxes next to the booth for the Ferris wheel burst into flames. The man inside the booth swore, and stopped the ride, before rushing out of the booth. Ace blinked.

"Um... whoops?" Nami grinned as an idea crept into her mind.

"Oi, Ace..." She called, and whispered something into the tall mans ear. He listened for a few seconds, before grinning.

"Okay, but if Luffy is limping when he gets off the ride, I'm blaming you."

* * *

Zoro frowned as the wheel jerked to a stop, the carriage him and Luffy were in rocking at the top, and he looked through the bars of the cage. He gaped at what he saw. Below them, next to the booth, a fire was raging. The ride operator was spraying the flames with a red fire-extinguisher, and around him stood four familiar figures. Zoro sighed as the fire suddenly blazed back into life, singeing the side of the booth. A spark must have landed on a pile of planks nearby, as within a few seconds, they went up as well. Nami looked up, and when she saw Zoro, grinned and gave the swordsman a thumbs up. Zoro coloured.

_They'd _planned_ this!_

Sitting back, he looked at Luffy, who'd stretched his neck to see what was happening. The rubber-man watched in interest as the flames grew bigger, but never out of control, seemingly not noticing his three crewmates and older brother. His head snapped back, and he grinned cheerfully at Zoro.

"Looks like we'll be up here for a while." The swordsman said. Luffy grinned.

"Yup! I'm glad." The Captain said. Zoro raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really? Why's that?" He asked, making sure to keep a light note to his voice, to make sure he didn't sound _too _curious...

"Because Zoro's my favourite person in the whoooooooole world!" Luffy cried, rocking back and forth again. Zoro looked away, blushing at the several meanings of this. However, the swordsman had to wonder if Luffy himself knew the implications of that sentence.

"Really? What about Ace?" Luffy shook his head at this.

"I love Ace this much," He said, throwing his arms wide to show just how much he loved Ace. "But I love Zoro this much!" He continued, stretching his arms so that his hands slipped out of the cage. Zoro smirked at this. Luffy really was just a little kid at times.

"Oh really? And what about Shanks? Do you love him as much as me?" Zoro asked jokingly, hoping to catch the rubber man out. Luffy's arms snapped back, and he frowned, thinking. Zoro chuckled, ruffling Luffy's hair.

"Don't worry, Captain." He said, still smirking. Luffy's frown deepened.

"Nope."

"Huh?" Zoro asked, surprised.

"I love Zoro more than Shanks." Luffy stated, looking up at Zoro. He grinned his famous grin which, by now, was in every marine building and ship, and probably in every village, town and city in the world. Zoro coloured, but before he could think of a way to answer this bold statement, Luffy yawned, and leant his head on Zoro's shoulder. In a matter of seconds, his soft snores filled the cage. Blinking down at his captain, Zoro smiled. Sometimes, people would think that the marines had made a mistake, and that Luffy wasn't the real captain. Zoro used to be slightly surprised by these assumptions, but at times, like now, he could see why people would make that mistake. Luffy was just so childish and naive, while Zoro was mature and serious. In fact, when Zoro had first met Luffy, for a few minutes, he'd been doubtful that he'd ever make a good pirate captain. Of course, that was before the hyper boy had defeated a whole building of Marines. Despite being one of the most wanted rookies in the world, and having already built up a reputation as a fierce pirate captain, there were times, like now, where the boy stopped being Monkey D. Luffy, the strong, reckless pirate captain who had invoked the rage of the world and lived, who had invaded Impel Down just for one man, who protected his Nakama at any cost, and who had challenged Whitebeard without fear, and became Luffy, the childish, slightly cute boy who loved meat, adventures and friends. And, apparently, Zoro. Said swordsman felt his face heat up as he pondered over their conversation, scanning through every word, expression and touch. Running one of his large hands through Luffy's thick, soft, dark hair, the older man smiled gently, before resting his head on Luffy's, breathing in the sweet, unmistakable smell of his strong captain. It was a few minutes before Zoro realised that Luffy's steady snoring had stopped.

"Neh, Zoro?" Zoro's head shot away from the younger mans, and felt his cheeks burning.

"Yeah?" He asked, pretending to look down at the funfair. Luffy was silent for a long time, and eventually, Zoro turned to face him, wondering what could make the boy so subdued. His eyes widened, and, for a few seconds, he was completely still, not even daring to breath. Soft lips broke away from his own, and Luffy's face hovered a few centimetres away from Zoro's. Chocolate brown eye's blinked innocently, before a mischievous giggle filled the cage.

"Love you, Zoro!" He said, grinning happily. Zoro opened his mouth – to reply? He didn't know – just as the cage lurched, and the whole wheel started to move again. Luffy giggled, and started to rock back and forth, trying to make the cage spin round again.

* * *

"Did they kiss? Did they? Did they?" Nami stood on her tip-toes, trying to see into the top cage, which was slowly coming down to the bottom. Usopp, who had pulled down his lenses to see clearly into the cage, didn't answer.

"Oi, Usopp?" Sanji asked, tapping the Sniper on the head.

"I'm... not sure... I saw something... but they could have just been talking..." Usopp said. Ace frowned.

"So, they may or may not have kissed..." He sighed, slumping his shoulders as he put his hands in his pockets. "Well, we're no better off than we were before they got on the damn thing..."

Nami frowned as Zoro and Luffy's carriage reached the bottom and the wheel screeched to a halt.

"I wouldn't say that..." She said. Ace peered at her, curious, before turning to look at the two men. Luffy bounded out of the carriage, and, upon seeing the four pirates, waved his arms, and ran to meet them. A subdued looking Zoro slowly followed him, and Ace and Sanji smirked at the violent blush which graced the swordsman's face. Zoro stopped when he saw their matching smirks, and his blush grew to reach the tips of his ears and crept down his neck.

"OI! Ace!" Ace smiled, humouring his little brother, who was talking about... something... using extravagant gestures. However, the rubber-boy's story was cut short when Luffy's eyes grew as round as saucers, and he suddenly ran forward.

"PUPPY!" He yelled, as he scooped up the scraggly looking creature in his arms. Nami peered at it.

"Luffy, I think you scared it..." She said, as the puppy whimpered. However, in a matter of seconds, it seemed to get used to Luffy's strong hold, and settled down, resting it's head on Luffy's forearm.

"It doesn't have a collar; do you think it has an owner?" Usopp asked, looking at the resting lump of fur. Watery honey coloured eyes blinked up at him.

"Ah, that poor kid would be lucky to have an owner, and especially one that would treat it well..." Luffy turned in surprise, and looked at the old man manning a nearby stall. The man smiled.

"It's only a couple of months old, and it was left here a few weeks ago... terrible thing, for a pup that young to be without a proper home..." He continued. Luffy held the puppy up in front of his face, and stared at it intently.

"It's not too friendly with people, see? Reckon its old owners, whoever they may be, didn't treat it too fine... Ah, but I leave scraps and stuff for it occasionally, and it eats them when it thinks no-one's looking..." The puppy stared back at Luffy, and licked his nose. Luffy grinned.

"Right! I've decided! This puppy is my next Nakama!" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it seems fine with Luffy..." He commented. He really shouldn't have been surprised. Luffy loved dogs, and they loved him. It was just part of Luffy's mystical magic, one of the many things that made him HIM.

Luffy grinned up at Zoro, before running ahead of his friends, still holding the puppy. Nami looked up at the rapidly darkening sky.

"We should head back to the Thousand Sunny..." She said. Zoro grunted, and, resting one large hand on Wado, he followed the receding shadow that was Luffy.

* * *

Luffy laughed delightedly as the puppy rolled across the floor of the Thousand Sunny, chasing a small red ball the boy had found in the cellar. Luffy had washed the squirming puppy to the best of his ability and attention span, and although the thick fur was still matted with mud, you could at least see the rich red fur. Luffy had also dared a trip into the kitchen, and had returned with some cereal, which he had mashed up for the puppy. The Straw-hat wearer may have acted like an idiot, but he adored dogs, and was confident he could care for one measly puppy on his own… Then Nami would see that she didn't have to worry, and let him keep it! The Puppy sat up, shaking his head, and, spying the ball again, growled playfully, and pounced on the ball again. It slipped out from underneath the puppy's small paws, and bounced across the deck, stopping at Luffy's crossed legs. Luffy picked the ball up, and bounced it back across the deck. It hit the wall, and bounced off it, heading towards the side of the ship, the puppy following it all the way. The ball bounced over the side, and the puppy scrambled up to stand on a barrel, whining mournfully at the loss of the ball. Luffy pouted as he stood, but, a second later, his pout was wiped clean to be replaced by a large grin as the ball came flying back onto the deck, followed by a familiar green head.

"Thanks, Zoro!" Luffy grinned, and the puppy yipped his agreement as the two chased after the ball again. Zoro didn't answer, instead walking over to the main mast and sitting down with his back against it, closing his eyes. He wouldn't go to sleep; he'd just rest for a few seconds.

* * *

When the swordsman woke up, the first thing he felt was a warm weight on his head. Reaching up with one hand, he seized the puppy which was curled up in his hair by the scruff of the neck, and brought it down to glare in his face. The puppy just blinked sleepily a couple of times, before yawning.

"Why were you on my head?" Zoro asked him, instantly feeling foolish for talking to a dog. In response, the puppy just licked the swordsman's nose, before squirming. Resigned, Zoro let go of the fur ball, and watched as it scrambled across the deck towards the kitchen, and the smell of cooking food. Wondering exactly how long he'd been asleep, the swordsman pushed himself up, following the puppies path.

"Does anyone know why I woke up with a puppy on my head?" Zoro asked as entered the kitchen. Sanji didn't look up from the food he was cooking, while Chopper, who was sitting on the floor with the puppy, just waved. Nami looked up from the newspaper she was reading at the table.

"Finally up? If it makes you feel any better, Luffy was asleep with you." She said, smirking when Zoro froze, one foot inches from the floor.

"Wh... what?"

"Well, Luffy and the puppy got bored of chasing the ball, so they came to lie with you. Here, I took a photo!" She said, presenting Zoro with a Polaroid. Zoro took it, and looked at it. In the picture, Zoro was leaning against the mast, sound asleep. The scraggly grey puppy was balanced on his head, one leg dangling over the swordsman's forehead. And snuggled up to Zoro's side, with one large muscular arm draped over his slight shoulders was Luffy, his famous Straw-hat hooked on one of his bare feet, and his thin arms wrapped around the older man's waist.

Zoro blinked.

"Don't you make the cutest picture?" Nami asked mockingly, standing up. "Well, if you cropped out you, of course..." She joked. Zoro didn't answer, just carried on staring at the picture. Luffy had a slight, content smile across his face, and Zoro couldn't help but respond with an equally content smile.

"Yeah... I guess we do..." He whispered.

In the kitchen, Sanji faked a heart attack. Chopper's head shot up, and his jaw dropped, and Nami's eyes widened, before she crossed the room and checked outside for rain. The puppy just blinked, before shrugging, and lying down.

* * *

Ace scowled as he made his way back towards the Thousand Sunny through torrential rain. He kicked viciously at a nearby stone, and it went flying. A second later the sound of smashing glass filled the air, but Ace ignored it, still scowling. The island had been _completely _useless for finding material for his boat... Around every corner were stalls dedicated to the funfair, or rides, or people in strangely erotic clothes...

However... Ace's scowl disappeared to be replaced by a sly smirk. The more time he had to take to find the necessary materials for his boat, the more time he would spend on the Thousand Sunny, and the more fun he could have terrorizing Zoro...

And, of course, the more time he would have making sure Luffy was happy...

Climbing onto the Thousand Sunny, Ace crossed the deck towards the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat before he went to bed. Opening the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find several plates of food on the table next to a piece of white paper. Picking up the paper, he smirked.

_Ace,_

_We made sure some food was saved for you. We're gonna head out early tomorrow, so if you need help building your boat, Franky's on guard duty tonight. Night!_

_Nami._

_P.S. Took a couple of photo's for you!_

Ace looked at the photo's that were underneath the note, and smiled at the scene of Zoro, Luffy and the puppy all asleep, before sitting down to eat.

Once he was done, and had washed the plates - and his face from the couple of times he had fallen asleep halfway through eating – Ace headed to the cabins. Opening the door slowly and slipping in, he smirked as the first thing he saw was Zoro asleep in his bed, one arm wrapped around Luffy, like a possessive lover. As Ace watched, the puppy raised his head and looked around. Upon locating his master, he hopped out of Luffy's empty hammock and ran across the room, climbing up onto Zoro's bed and squirming between the two men. Zoro's eyes opened, and Ace tensed, hoping the swordsman's quick eyes wouldn't spot him. His prayers were answered, as Zoro just mumbled something sleepily at the puppy - who responded with an equally sleepy yip – before both fell asleep, comfortable in the arms of their beloved Luffy. Ace smiled, and shook his head, before making his way towards the temporary hammock set up for him.

**A note from ME! **Yah! Fluff!

*Z-D* Well, Ace wasn't THAT bad…

*Me* Oh, don't worry, you haven't heard the last of him…

*Z-D* … For a Zoro fangirl, You're pretty malicious towards me…

*Me* Hehe!

PREVIEW! : _Next to her, Zoro came out of the door, shirtless, with sweat gleaming on his well toned muscles and across his jagged scar. Nami looked at him, then shrugged, and returned her gaze to Luffy. He was going dangerously fast now – Usopp was sitting on the deck, obviously from when he had fallen off – and Nami was worried that the ship would be broken. Faster and faster Luffy went, and Zoro moved to stand next to Nami, frowning slightly._

Okay, now you guys KNOW that something's going to happen… only WHAT?! XD For that matter, what the hell Is Luffy doing in the first place? XD

Reviews mean love… XD

[1] Yeap, Gulped with a capital G! XD


	5. Lovers Tiff?

**A note from ME! ***Huddles in Emo corner of DOOOOOOM!* The whoooole world is out to get me… sniffles…

*Zoro-devil* What's with her?

*Luffy-angel* She didn't have a good day yesterday… First she had football against the boys…

*Zoro-devil* I thought she was really liking forward to that… She was talking all last week about how the girls were going to kick their "Smug, know it-all asses into the next dimension"?

*L-A* Yeah, but that was before she got booted six times in the stomach and once on the head… and I'm not even to go into what the OTHER team did…

*Z-D* 0.o

*L-A* Then she had science, and they were making and testing perfume…

*Z-D* Well that doesn't sound too bad…

*L-A* … Yeah, she can't smell…

*Z-D* Oh… What else?

*L-A* It goes on for a few more pages… she's a bit upset she only got two reviews for the last chapter though, considering that it was her favourite chapter uploaded so far.

*Z-D* Ah… Well, should we do the reviews?

*L-A* Yeah, sure… First one is from Lectori Salutem…

*Z-D* Hmob would probably start with something like "Kya, Arigatou", and then "Yah for puppies"…

*L-A* I like puppies… we should get one for Hmob's head… Zoro, I still don't get it… WHAT are the implications?

*Z-D* *Blushes* Ne… Never mind Luffy… Stupid fangirls…

*L-A* and the next Review is from Anie-chan…

*Z-D* *Sarcastic* Gosh, I feel so loved…

*L-A* Nehe, don't be upset, Zoro!

*Z-D* Upset? Who's upset? I'm not upset…

*L-A* Right… well, lets start the Chapter! Hmob wants you to know that she made this chapter to start the ball rolling on an extremely special event, and that all the Yaoi fans would know what it was…

*Z-D* I thought this was T rated…

*L-A* Huh?

*Z-D* Nothing, Luffy!

*L-A* Huh… As Always, Hmob doesn't own a thing…

**Chapter 5**

**Lover's Tiff?**

Smoker sighed, annoyed, and puffed on his two cigars, overlooking the fact that the damp cigars were not only not lit, and wouldn't be able to light, but were also starting to taste very bad, due to their wet state. Sighing again, Smoker rested his elbow on one knee, letting his head rest in his cupped hand. Sitting cross-legged was an embarrassing, childish way of sitting, but, unless he wanted to fall into the ocean, it was the only way he could sit on the thin sheet of metal, and standing was out of the question. It was his own fault, was what he was supposed to think. He had heard the recent reports of the freak geysers that had sprouted throughout the Grand Line.[1] He knew that the fragile, smoke-powered boat, based on the same plans as his motorbike was, was only a prototype, and could break easily. He also knew that riding out of the islands magnetic range was a bad idea, no matter how addicting riding the boat got. However, Smoker was too busy glaring at the brightly coloured ship heading towards him and wishing for it to go away or at least that the Straw-hat-wearing Jolly Roger would somehow disappear, and change into the Marine sign, or even a different pirate sign, to think of any of this.

"Damn D brothers..." He muttered, as the ship got closer.

Luffy frowned as the ship got closer and closer to the grey-haired figure, and absentmindedly stroked the puppies head, the puppy sitting peacefully between the rubber-boys cross-legs. He was not looking forward to meeting the marine Commodore, but he couldn't just _leave_ him, could he? Smoker was a devil fruit user too, and so he couldn't swim...

Besides, when Ace had snatched the telescope out of Usopp's trembling hands and spotted the Marine, a glint had appeared in his eye, and a grin almost as large as Luffy's usual grin had spread across his face, and Luffy just wasn't mean enough to deprive his older brother of whatever had caused the grin. Luffy sighed as he began to make out Smoker's two fat cigars and his angry looking eyes, but looked up as a large hand landed on his shoulder. He grinned up at Zoro's serious face, and the older man raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" Zoro asked. Luffy had been frowning – not his usual childish pout, but a proper, deep frown which marred the Pirate Captain's smooth features – for a few minutes, just glaring out to where the Marine sat. However, Luffy just grinned and nodded, before slipping off of the figure-head.

"SANJI! Breakfast!" He called, and Zoro smiled, glad that his Captain was back to normal. Sanji left the kitchen, wiping his hands with a cloth.

"Already done." The blond called back, motioning to the kitchen. Luffy grinned, and was halfway to the kitchen when he shot back, sandals flying off, to dangle in the air as Zoro held him by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't you think that the captain should be here when a Marine peacefully boards our ship?" Zoro asked, forcing himself to have a straight face as Luffy peered up hopefully and the puppy picked up one of his fallen sandals, shaking it viciously.

"No?" Zoro shook his head, and let go of the rubber-boy. Luffy slipped on one sandal, and looked around for the other until he saw the Puppy running away with it.

"OI!" He yelled, laughing, and chased after the puppy. Zoro shook his head, trying not to laugh, and made his way down the ship to let down the ladder.

Smoker glared at the curious puppy that sniffed cautiously at his feet. Nami had washed him, and cut his fur, and bought him a new, red collar, and Sanji had fed it, and now, instead of looking like the scraggly, worn ball of fur it used to look like, it looked just as a puppy should: short legs falling over themselves, large, honey coloured eyes sparkling and excited, red fur gleaming neatly, and a good deal of extra puppy fat. The puppy blinked up at the marine, before rearing up on his back legs and placing his front paws on Smokers trouser leg, his long tail wagging excitedly. Man and dog stared at each other for a while, before Smoker sighed and leant down, scooping up the puppy with one hand and placing him on the table. The puppy yipped, and scrambled across the table, tripping over his own feet in his haste to get to the other side of the table where Luffy was sitting – scoffing his food at the speed of light – and landing on a plate of bacon. He stood up, shook himself and sniffed at the bacon. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to take a bite of it when a pair of arms sprouted from the table and picked him up. Robin smiled.

"I think you might be a bit too young for bacon..." She said, and scooped the puppy up, along with her empty plate, and headed towards the kitchen. She paused, and looked at Smoker.

"You haven't eaten much, Commodore-san. Do you not trust us?" She asked, smiling pleasantly. Smoker scowled.

"I don't tend to make a habit of accepting hospitality from pirates." He spat. "It's bad enough that I was rescued by you, but to accept your food isn't something I'm prepared to do." This wasn't quite true. While the Marine Commodore was ashamed that he had to accept help – from pirates no less – he was too busy observing the Straw-hats bewildering crew to be worried about that. The woman, Robin, for instance, who could make her own limbs sprout from any surface, and had been working against the straw-hats last time he'd seen her, or Franky, the large, blue haired cyborg who was only wearing an open Hawaiian shirt and a pair of Speedos, or Brooke, the skeleton with an afro... This still confused Smoker. It was one thing that the damn Straw-hat had recruited a skeleton, but how did it have an afro?

The marine turned as he heard the door open, and almost choked as Ace strolled into the kitchen, grinning. He grabbed the chair next to Smoker and sat down in it.

"Hey, Smokey!" He said cheerfully, and Smoker felt his eye twitch at the degrading nickname the D brothers had given him. Across the table, Luffy looked up, a sausage hovering in front of his mouth. Brown eyes observed the two men for a few seconds, before he began eating again. Smoker narrowed his own eyes at this. Straw-hat may act immature and childish, but Smoker was sure that a man who had come this far in the world of pirates couldn't be a _complete_ idiot. Straw-hat knew something, and it had to do with Smoker and Ace.

Luffy laughed as he and Usopp rolled to a stop by the side of the ship, the puppy and Chopper soon following him. The four sat there for a while, until the Thousand Sunny tilted again and they started to slide back down across the ship. The four had found Franky's work stuff, and, despite the various shiny items which had initially held Luffy's interest, what had really interested him were the rolling benches Franky used when he needed to get underneath something. Upon discovering the small wheels, the puppy and Chopper were soon sent sliding across the floor, to be followed by Luffy and Usopp.

Nami sighed as she watched the four sliding from one side of the ship to the other, and back again. At least it meant they wouldn't get in the way, and she could draw up her map in peace. Zoro was in the crows nest, training, Sanji and Brooke was cleaning up after breakfast, Robin was reading while sipping on her coffee and Franky was working on something in his workshop. Talking about working on something, Nami glanced again at the picture Luffy had found. Zoro didn't have many material items, but this picture must have been an exception. In it, a grumpy looking young Zoro sat, surrounded by kids his own age, and a few older men. All of them wore white dojo robes. However, it was the writing on the back which interested the Straw-hat crew the most. It was a date, with something written beneath it in curly writing which was definitely not Zoro's handwriting.

_Zoro's Birthday_

Nami smirked, and put the photo down. The date was only a couple of days away. This would be perfect for the next stage of her plan. Standing up, she called to Luffy. Her childish captain looked up, and when she motioned him over, his arms shot out, pulling him up and over the rail Nami was leaning on in about an eighth of the time a normal person would have taken.

"So, what are you going to get for Zoro's birthday, Luffy?" She asked playfully. Luffy frowned, and pulled himself up to sit on the rail. Eventually he shrugged.

"No idea."

"Well, let's try to find something together, shall we? We're probably gonna reach the next island by late afternoon, and we can go out together." Nami suggested. Luffy grinned up at her.

"Sure!" He said, but before Nami had the time to say anything else, the Rubber Man was already back on the bench, stretching his arms and making him and Usopp fly across the ship. Next to her, Zoro came out of the door, shirtless, with sweat gleaming on his well toned muscles and across his jagged scar. Nami looked at him, then shrugged, and returned her gaze to Luffy. He was going dangerously fast now – Usopp was sitting on the deck, obviously from when he had fallen off – and Nami was worried that the ship would be broken. Faster and faster Luffy went, and Zoro moved to stand next to Nami, frowning slightly. Eventually, he spoke.

"Alright, what are you lot up to?" He asked. Nami looked up.

"I don't know what you mean..." She said, feigning innocence. Zoro snorted.

"Don't mess with me. I came down, and when Brooke saw me, he hid in the closet." Nami frowned at this, and was thinking of some cutting answer when Chopper called Luffy's name, sounding panicked.

Zoro and Nami's heads shot up, and it took both a fraction of a second to see the empty bench, the unconscious Usopp, and the panicking Chopper to realise what had happened. A series of images flashed through the two's minds; Luffy was going too fast on the bench, Usopp was in the way, Luffy flew into Usopp, and the sudden stop of the bench made Luffy fly off, up over the edge, into the waiting ocean...

Zoro swore, and rushed to the side of the ship, vaulting over it into the dark waters below. Nami followed, peering into the waters and trying to spot the two. The door opened behind her, and Ace and Smoker came out, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked, and Nami briefly wondered why the Marine and the Pirate came out together.

"Luffy fell in the water again." She said. "Zoro went after him..." Ace's eyes widened, and he ran to the side, eyes darting, looking for any flicker, any sign of a shadow. Agonizing minutes passed, and there was no sign of either men. Even Nami was starting to get worried, and leant over the sea, frowning. Smoker moved and stood next to Ace, still smoking two fat cigars. Despite her growing anxiety for her two friends, she had to stop to think about where on earth the intimidating Marine had found two dry cigars on the ship, but dismissed it as soon as a splash, a gasp, and a long string of swearing filled the air. Nami immediately ran down the ship and dropped the rope ladder, breathing a secret sigh of relief as Zoro grab hold of it, holding an unconscious Luffy in one arm. Ace helped pull the ladder back up, and the two men tumbled over the side and landed in a wet heap. Zoro untangled himself from the weakened rubber boy, and looked at him.

"Honestly Luffy..." He started, but trailed off when he saw Luffy's closed eyes and still chest.

"Luffy! Chopper, he's not breathing!" Zoro yelled, scrambling to his knees and kneeling next to Luffy. Chopper's eyes widened.

"Help! Doctor!" He started to scream, running in a circle.

"CHOPPER!" Zoro roared. Chopper stopped, blinked, than ran to Luffy's side, pushing Zoro out of the way with surprising ease. Changing so that he was big, the reindeer quickly straightened his captain, opening Luffy's mouth, and started to press on his chest. One time. Two times. Three times. Four times, five times... Luffy's eyes snapped open, and he rolled over, coughing and spitting out water. Chopper breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's fine. He'll need some rest though; we've got to make sure he stays in bed today, no matter how he feels." Nami bit her lip, and Luffy croaked a hoarse disagreement, still finding his voice. After a few more minutes of coughing, Luffy forced himself to sit up, ignoring Chopper's weak protests, and grinned at Zoro.

"Thanks, Zoro." Zoro gritted his teeth as a stab of dark anger flared through him. Luffy had been _so close..._ If Zoro had been just a minute too late...

"Idiot." Zoro muttered, glowering at his captain. Luffy's grin faltered.

"Wha..."  
"Don't you get it? You were this close, _this close_... you're too carefree, Luffy. You need to think about your own life, once in a while."

"Zoro..."

"It's your own stupid mistakes that get you into these situations, and it's always us who needs to bail you out! You're a hammer, Luffy! A pirate can't forget a fact like that! It's those kind of mistakes that will get you killed..." Zoro growled, his voice rising as he got more and more annoyed. Angrily, he stormed away, back to the cabin's, but not before he caught a brief glance at Luffy's hurt, confused face.

Zoro slammed the door closed to the indoors Crows Nest, and leant against it, breathing heavily. He should have got Chopper to check up on him. He must have swallowed a lot of water. That was what the painful, tight feeling in his heart meant...

Luffy curled up in his hammock, the puppy snuggled in a warm ball next to him. He should have dried off properly before going to bed. His hair must still be slightly wet. That was what that drop of water underneath his eye was...

**A note from ME! **Okay, I'm back from the brink of depression…

*Z-D* Oh joy.

*Me* Shush. I'm sorry for the less then happy chapter, but trust me, this sets the ball rolling for the two more dominant pairings, as well as the two more minor pairings… Anyway, preview! : _"You need a name… I can't just keep calling you "the Puppy"." He sat up, watching as the puppy tumbled off his chest._

"_How about…" He paused, watching the puppy watch him from his lap. He thought of all the things that were important to him. The puppy's name had to be really, really special!_

_Meat was important to him, but he didn't think that counted…_

_His hat was special to him, but he couldn't call the puppy Boshi, he'd get confused!_

_Ace was special to him, and so was Shanks, and even grandpa, but for some reason none of their name's matched the puppy…_

_His Nakama were important to him, but if he named the Puppy after any of his Nakama, then it'd get really confusing!_

I know, it seems less then epic, but I've just posted a vital piece of information for the next chapter!

Please review!

Cya!

[1] What? It happened once, it can happen again!


	6. Unspoken Apologies

**A note from ME! **Here we go! Next chapter! XD, I like this Chapter, but not as much as I like the _next _chapter… XD

Reviews please!

*Luffy-angel* First is from Anie-chan…

*Me* Kya! Thank you! I's do not like the emo corner of DOOM… XD

*Z-D* … o.0 scary… A… anyway, next review is from Wyvren-chan…

*Me* Hehe, it's okay! XD And thank you for the sympathy… XD And I agree, you do need to update your stories! I wanna read the next chappies! XD *Bows* Thankies for the food!

*L-A* *Mouth full* Thsanks!

*Z-D* *Tilts bottle* Cheers.

*L-A* Next is two from Thiefking-chan.

*Me* XD, KK. First one, I no! I want one too… XD Maybe I should have a competition to see if anyone can draw it for me… XD And Ace really is wicked… And here's the SmoAce fluff! Hehehe…

Next one, Yeap. Fear the geysers of DOOM! XD Thank you!

*Z-D* Next is a new reviewer, kakkarot21.

*Me* *Blushes* Thank you!

*L-A* Heres one from Lectori-chan!

*Me* Hmm… what will Ace do to Smoker… Well, you shall have your answer… XD As for the Puppy, I adore him, and want my own… but my mums allergic to fur, So I have to wait till I move out… XD

*Z-D* One from 777angeloflove…

*Me* I no! I'm a horrible person… Although, now I think about it, compared to most authors, this was actually fairly minor… XD

And Finally! Happy Birthday to Anie-chan! Don't worry, I care about it! XD Hope you have a nice day, and I hope this will have you feeling happy! XD

Disclaimer: Sadly, no… Otherwise… Well… ^/////^

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Unspoken Apologies**

Ace paced up and down the slowly darkening deck, growling angrily. Occasionally he would glare at the door, as if daring the swordsman his anger was directed at to come out of it.

"That bastard..." He growled as he passed an impassive Smoker. Chopper had taken Luffy inside, keeping big in order to carry the boy. Luffy had been strangely quiet, not struggling at all when the reindeer lifted him up. The puppy had followed them, and Nami had roughly dragged Usopp after them.

"I swear, next time I see him, I'll strangle him... He'll be on his knees, begging for mercy by the time I'm through with him..."

Smoker shrugged.

"He was right. Straw-hat should be more careful. It will be his fault if he drowns, and it leaves the rest of his crew in a troubling situation." Ace scowled at the Marines reasonable argument, and sat down on the bench.

"I swear me and him already had the big brother talk..." He muttered venomously. Smoker raised an eyebrow.

"The 'Big Brother' talk?" He queried, snorting. "You make it sound like they're going out or something."

"Well, almost." Smoker blinked, but decided to ignore the comment.

"Ah, whatever..." Ace muttered, standing up and crossing the ship, passing Smoker without a second glance. Large, gloved hands wrapped around his wrist, pulling the pyromaniac back a few steps.

"About the conversation we were having..." Smoker said hesitantly. Ace smirked.

"Changed your mind, have you Smokey?" He asked, brother troubles briefly forgotten in favour of this new game. Making Smoker squirm was even more fun than making Roronoa terrified for his life...

Smoker scowled, letting go of Ace's wrist.

"… It's nothing." He muttered. Ace pouted, and Smoker raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"You look like your brother when you do that." This resulted in a scowl, and Smoker smirked, before standing up.

"Where are you going?" Ace asked, watching as the marine opened the door to the kitchen.

"I'm going to take a look round." He was told, before the door slammed shut. Ace pouted, before sitting in the place that had been, until recently, inhabited by Smoker.

* * *

Smoker opened the door to the large Crows Nest, frowning. Although it was clearly meant to be an additional Crows nest, due to its high placing and all round windows, as well as the speakers Smoker had seen on the outside, it looked more like a training room. In the middle of the room was Zoro, who was doing handstands on one hand, lowering himself then pushing himself back up, counting as he did so. Balanced on the soles of his feet were a set of huge weights, and sweat dripped down his back and off his face as he counted.

"996, 997, 998, 999, 1000…" He swapped hands.

"1, 2, 3…"

"I thought I should warn you," Smoker interrupted the Swordsman's counting, and Zoro paused, pushing himself up, and grunted to show he was listening.

"Portgas is on his way up to kill you." Smoker continued. There was a pause, and then Zoro continued his press ups.

"4, 5, 6, 7…" Smoker shrugged, before crossing the room to look out of one of the large windows. To his surprise, Ace was still sitting on the deck, frowning. Turning round, he sat down, watching as Zoro continued to do press-ups.

* * *

Luffy forced out a giggle as the puppy licked the rubber-boy's nose.

"That tickles…" He said, stroking the puppy's head. "You need a name… I can't just keep calling you "the Puppy"." He sat up, watching as the puppy tumbled off his chest.

"How about…" He paused, watching the puppy watch him from his lap. He thought of all the things that were important to him. The puppy's name had to be really, really special!

Meat was important to him, but he didn't think that counted…

His hat was special to him, but he couldn't call the puppy Boshi, he'd get confused!

Ace was special to him, and so was Shanks, and even grandpa, but for some reason none of their name's matched the puppy…

His Nakama were important to him, but if he named the Puppy after any of his Nakama, then it'd get _really_ confusing!

Thinking of his Nakama was painful, and Luffy didn't like it.

"Baka Zoro…" He muttered, angrily. He lifted his hand in front of his face, and closed it into a fist. It felt empty… It was the only way to describe it. Zoro was angry at him, and his hand felt empty without the other's hand, his cheeks ached from the loss of the grin that was widest around the older, his heart was heavy with grief from the taller's furious expression, and it _hurt_. It hurt so badly, to think that he'd made one of the most important people in his life that angry…

Or was it anger? Anger that Zoro had had to jump after him? No, that had happened millions of times before, and he hadn't been _angry_… Annoyed, maybe, but not to the point where he yelled at him…

Anger that Luffy had put his own life in danger? But Zoro knew that that would never change, and just got on with it.

In fact, the only thing that was different about this time was the fact that this time – if Nami was to be believed – Luffy had almost died…

… So, did that mean that, instead of being angry…

Was the older man… worried?

Luffy grinned suddenly, and giggled. Scooping up the puppy, he slipped out of his hammock, ignoring the dull throb in his chest, and staggered across the room to the desk.

* * *

Ace paused on his way to the stairs, and crouched down in front of the door. The Puppy was nudging the closed door with his head, whining softly.

"Hey, you're Luffy's new puppy, aren't you?" Ace asked gently, scooping the red ball of fur up in his arms while opening the door. "You want to go upstairs?" He chatted softly to the young puppy as he walked up to the crows nest. Once he reached it, he put the puppy down and opened the door.

"Oi, Roronoa…" He called lazily, but the puppy beat him. Yipping happily, he scrambled over Ace's large boots before tripping and tumbling across the floor as Zoro gently put down his weights, before turning to look at the puppy.

"Hey, you." He said, watching bemused as the puppy bit and pulled at his shoe, tugging at it with little success. "What're you doing?" The tall man asked, crouching down. He reached out to stroke the puppy's head, the tiny thing dwarfed by Zoro's large hand. It was then that Zoro noticed the piece of paper tucked in his collar.

"What's this?" He asked, pulling it out. Ace moved forward, curious. Zoro ignored the older man as he unfolded the paper, and chuckled.

_Wado._

"That Baka…" He said, and stroked the puppy again. "So, your name is Wado, is it?" Wado yipped. Zoro grinned, before looking up, and standing to look Ace in the eye.

"Ace." He said, expectantly. Ace stared at him.

"I… Well, I mean…" he cleared his throat. "Ah, hell, I can't do it!" He complained, shoving past Zoro to flop next to Smoker. "If he put up a fight, or _begged _or something… But I can't! He's completely prepared to suffer the consequ-" A loud snore interrupted his rant as he fell asleep. Smoker and Zoro stared at him.

"That was… weird…" Zoro said at last. Smoker shrugged.

"Aren't you gonna go down 'n' see Straw-hat?" He reminded him. A long, knowing glance past between both men.

"Well, have fun." Zoro said evenly, picking up the puppy and carrying it with him as he left the room. It took Smoker a few seconds to realise exactly what the green-haired man had meant, and when he did, he coloured.

"DAMN RORONOA!" He roared after the pirate, waking up Ace with a start.

"What'd I miss?" Ace asked groggily. Smoker snorted.

"Roronoa's gone to speak to your brother." He told him. Ace nodded.

"Good." A silence descended between the two men, and Ace found the need to clear his throat, if only to break the steely silence.

"Well… I've spent so much time fixing up my brother's relationship, I haven't thought about my own." He commented, edging closer to the Marine. Smoker watched him suspiciously.

"Yeah?" He asked. He was rewarded with a hum as Ace inched closer.

"Any closer, Portgas, and you'll be in my lap." Smoker commented, and immediately wished he hadn't. A mischievous glint appeared in Ace's eye.

"Yeah? That doesn't seem like a bad idea to me…"

"If you dare sit in my la-" The strict marine was cut off by fiery lips crashing against his own, and all thoughts were blown out of his head. He was only slightly aware of Portgas swinging one leg over to straddle his lap, and cared even less when strong hands pushed off Smoker's marine jacket. Eventually, however, the two Logia-users had to breathe, and they broke apart, panting.

"Wow, for a guy who acts so uptight, you can sure kiss…" Ace breathed. Smoker growled as he grabbed the strings of Ace's hat with one hand, pulling the Narcoleptic Pirate down as his other hand went round Ace's back, pulling him further up his lap.

"Shut it, Portgas…" He growled, reclaiming the fire-users lips.

* * *

Zoro carefully opened the door to the men's quarters, peering in.

"Luffy?" He called. The rubber boy wasn't in his hammock. Zoro growled, and was about to leave the room to search the rest of the ship, convinced that their erratic captain had already given them the slip when the familiar, boyish voice called.

"I'm over here, Zoro." Zoro looked back in, and was surprised to see Luffy curled up on the mattress Zoro usually occupied.

"Luffy, why aren't you in your hammock?" He asked, walking over to the shorter man. Luffy looked up at him, Zoro's blankets tangled haphazardly around him. He grinned.

"Zoro's blankets smell nice." He said decisively. Zoro raised an eyebrow as he stared down at his captain, and the puppy squirmed in his arms. He set Wado down on the sofa next to Luffy as he mentally prepared himself.

"Is it okay?" Luffy asked suddenly, throwing the swordsman's thoughts off.

"Huh?" He asked, before berating himself for the rather idiotic reply.

"Is it okay to call the puppy Wado?" Luffy adjusted his question as he rolled onto his stomach, wrapping himself up in the thick blankets tighter. Zoro stared at him, before smiling a rare, gentle smile. There was no point in trying to prepare what he was going to say with Luffy; the words would end up sounding fake to the younger boy, who had the uncanny ability to determine when his Nakama was being truthful when it really counted. Instead he sat on the sofa next to the rubber-boy, untangling him from the blankets, and lying down, pulling Luffy along with him.

"Yes. It's okay." He whispered in Luffy's ear, happy to be able to talk freely to him again. "Now go to sleep, alright?" Luffy blinked into Zoro's chest, before grinning and closing his eyes, hugging puppy between them.

"Hai~" He sung, and wiggled about for a few seconds, improving his makeshift nest that was still wrapped around him snugly, but much more loosely.

"Night night, Zoro!" He giggled eventually. Zoro smiled.

"Good night, Luffy."

Outside the cabin, Chopper frowned as Nami gently closed the door. Her, Sanji and Chopper had seen Zoro come down the stairs from the Crows Nest, and had followed him to watch the gentle scene between Captain and First Mate.

"I don't get it…" The small reindeer said. Sanji looked down at him.

"What don't you get?" He asked quietly. Chopper looked up at the two humans.

"Neither said sorry, but they're acting as if both said sorry…" Nami smiled.

"I guess they don't actually _need _to say sorry, as long as they know that the other is sorry…" She rested her back against the door. "What a wonderful relationship… don't you wish you had someone like that, Sanji?" She looked up at the taller man, who did his noodle dance.

"HAI NAMI~SWAAAAN!" He said blissfully. He stopped short, though, and looked over Nami's shoulder. Nami turned to follow his gaze, and had to resist the urge to smile gleefully when she saw Usopp returning Sanji's stare. Both men stood there for a few seconds, before realizing that they were staring at each other and turning away. Usopp had a light blush, while Sanji was gently biting his lower lip. Then he smiled at Nami, and he and Usopp both headed down the corridor in separate directions. Nami giggled, and Chopper looked at her.

"What is it, Nami?" He asked. The navigator shook her head.

"Oh, it's nothing…" She giggled again as Chopper walked away.

'_I have to tell Robin nee-san… Looks like the ZoLu fangirls aren't the only ones I'm going to be making a fortune out of!'_

* * *

**A note from ME! **Hehe, I like Nami's thinking… XD here you go! Smo Ace, Zolu and Sanuso, all in one chapter! XD

**I CHALLENGE YOU!**

Now, I'm pretty sure that at least ONE of you brilliant readers are good at Art, since there's over 200 of you…

SO! I challenge you guys to draw me a picture of your favourite scene so far! I will judge them, and the winner will get a special Story, written by me, based on their specified wants, and featuring them or a preferred OC. It doesn't even have to be a One Piece or a Yaoi fic. However, I have one line I will draw.

I am willing to write OC's, but I am NOT going to do an OC paired with a character. I will do Character pairings, and OCxOC, but nothing like OCxZoro. Ok?

XD

Preview! : _"Luffy, you look ridiculous!" He spluttered. His captain gently removed the bowl from his head, before scowling at Zoro and flicking a large glob of thick cream at him. It landed on the swordsman's nose, stopping his laughter short. Grinning, Luffy shrugged off his top, before scowling at it, dropping it onto the floor and returning to the contents of the fridge. Zoro licked his lips. He'd seen Luffy without his shirt plenty of times, but never with the feelings he currently harboured. _GASP! Could it possibly be the long awaited Yaoi Scene? No Lemons, I'm Afraid…

Cya next time! XD


	7. The Temptation of Zoro

**A note from ME! **GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows*…

*Zoro-Devil* She's gonna do that for a while…

*Luffy-angel* Hmob is really sorry she hasn't updated! She wanted to get the next chapter written before she posted this, but she was behind on coursework!

*Z-D* Baka…*

*L-A* And she was banned from the computer… Which means she's only halfway through the next chapter…

*Me* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows*…

*Z-D* *Sighs* We'll do the reviews then… first is from angel-chan.

*L-A* XD, we're glad you like it! If you thought that was cute, then wait till you see what I do to Zoro!

*Z-D* Huh? What do you mean? What are you going to do to me?

*L-A* Shishishi… next is from Lectori-chan!

*Z-D* Hmob was over the moon with your message, and until a couple of days ago, was cackling about how lots more teasing is to come, and not all from Ace…

*L-A* The she realised how long it's been since she last updated, and went emo…

*Z-D* Next one is from Anie-chan.

*L-A* Shishishi… Hmob read your review during maths, and everyone thinks she's even weirder now, 'cause she was jumping about and everything! XD And CONGRATULATIONS! CONGRATULATIONS! CONGRATULATIONS!

*Z-D* You've been watching full metal alchemist with Hmob, haven't you?

*L-A* Yep! Hehe, last is from Vampirequeen15…

*Z-D* Huh, a new reviewer… well, welcome. Thanks for the compliment… (I think…)

*L-A* Ne, ne, Zoro, if Hmob knew how you treated her reviewers, she'd be angry!

*Z-D* Whatever…

Disclaimer: *L-A* Hmob does NOT own us!

*Z-D* Thank god…

*L-A* She DOES, however, own Wado the puppy. XD

*Me* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows* GOMEN NA SAI! *Bows*

*Z-D* SHUT UP!

**Chapter 7**

**The Temptation of Zoro**

The next day rose to find a groggy looking Ace, and an only slightly more tired Smoker, walking down the stairs from the Crows nest. When Ace opened the door to the kitchen and dining room, the only people there was Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. Sanji was in the kitchen, making something that smelled suspiciously like Coffee, and Ace was instantly drawn towards the bitter smell. Smoker sat down at the table, facing Luffy and Zoro, who were sitting next to each other. Luffy was holding Wado the puppy, facing him, and laughing as Wado tried to clean the Pirate Captains face, while Zoro was tending to the puppies namesake, examining it with expert eyes. Luffy looked up as the Marine sat down, and grinned mischievously in a way that reminded Smoker of the older D brother.

"Did you and Ace have fun last night?" He asked happily. Smoker stared stonily at the boy. In the kitchen, Ace spat out his gulp of Coffee. Sanji and Zoro looked at each other, before realization dawned on them.

"How… how did you…?" Ace stuttered, grabbing a dishcloth and using it to wipe him and the counter clean. Luffy stared at him, and Smoker sighed.

"Well, if he didn't before, he defiantly does now." He commented, lighting a pair of cigars and putting them in his mouth. Ace pouted.

"Smokey…" He whined. Smoker raised an eyebrow, but didn't look round. Instead he looked at Zoro, who laughed.

"Hey, look on the bright side. You have to deal with that only until we reach the next island." He told the Marine, pointing to Ace. "WE have to deal with this all the time!" He joked, motioning to Luffy, who had somehow managed to get his head stuck in the coffee pot.

"Zowo…" He moaned.

"What the… LUFFY!" Zoro yelled, looking at his captain in astonishment. Smoker Sweatdropped as he watched the swordsman wrestle with his captains head. Sanji just sighed, and returned to making breakfast. Ace smiled at his brother's antics, before sitting on the bench next to Smoker and resting his head on the older's shoulder. Smoker glared at him.

"What? It's not like they don't know!" The pirate said lightly. Smoker's glare didn't leave his face, but it did lighten a bit, and he turned away with a grunt.

Luffy's head came out of the coffee pot with an audible pop, just as Robin entered the kitchen. She smiled mysteriously.

"Cook-san, Navigator-san wants me to inform you that you're free of your duties. Me, Shipwright-san and Musician-san are taking over." She said. Smoker, Zoro and Luffy blinked blankly at her, but Ace and Sanji seemed to understand what she was talking about. Sanji nodded, and smiled warmly at her.

"Hai, Robin~chan! Would you like some coffee, my love?" He asked sweetly. Robin giggled.

"Yes please, cook-san. Can you bring it out to the deck for me?" She asked, and smiled.

"HAI!" Sanji called, doing his noodle dance. At the table, Smoker smirked. It seemed that the two woman of the crew knew exactly how to control the perverted cook.

"Captain-san? Ace-san?" Robin called before she left the room. "Would you come out with me for a while?" Ace and Luffy looked at each other, before shrugging simultaneously and getting up. Zoro made to get up to follow the rubber boy, but was stopped by Sanji.

"Oi, it's Luffy and Ace Robin-chan wants, not you, Marimo." He snapped. Zoro glared icily at him, and it wasn't long before Smoker was watching a heated fight between the two with warped amusement.

Out on the deck, Franky had slung one arm around Luffy's slim shoulders, and had pulled him and Ace down into a huddle around Robin, who was sat leisurely in her chair.

"Well, Captain-san, me, Shipwright-san and Musician-san have decided to help you along with your… relationship with Swordsman-san."

Luffy tilted his head, confused. "Relationship?" He asked curiously. Franky nodded seriously.

"Yeah! Luffy-bro, we're going to try to help you and Zoro get together!" He said enthusiastically. Luffy blinked, before smiling.

"Thanks, but I don't need help…" The four older people looked at him.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I already know what I'm going to do! I just need to get Zoro to confess, right?" Ace was almost crying.

"I knew my little brother was cocky, but I never thought his self-confidence stretched this far!" Brooke paused.

"Yohohoho! What's your plan, Captain?" Luffy grinned.

"I'm going to use Ace's formation 26." He said, before waving to the four and running back to the kitchen door. "If you guys really want to help, can you make sure that we have whipped cream and popsicles?" He asked before he opened the door and entered the kitchen. Robin, Franky and Brooke looked at Ace, who was blushing.

"That little… how does he always know?" He asked in exasperation. Robin giggled.

"It looks like captain-san isn't as naïve and innocent as we all think…" She joked. Franky grinned.

"SUPER! It's going to get a lot more exciting on the ship!" He shouted, before helping Robin up out of her beach chair with one huge hand as Sanji called them to breakfast. As the three Straw-hat crew members headed inside, Ace followed them, still wondering how far his supposedly innocent little brother's knowledge of his sexual life went. He was pretty certain that Formation 26 was that guy Chris from a few years ago, only a little while before he headed out to sea… now, he'd DEFINATLY been worth the making of a new formation… nothing compared to Smoker, but defiantly up among Aces higher achievements…

"Oi, Portgas, it helps if you _open_ the door, you know?" Ace looked up into Smokers amused eyes; even if the Marines voice sounded gruff, he was as easy to read as an open book. Ace smiled.

"Why, thank you for getting the door for me, my dear Smokey…" he teased, before leaning forward and giving the grey haired man a light kiss on the lips. He managed to slip past the older man seconds before the door was slammed in his face.

'_Worth it…'_

After a fairly uneventful breakfast, during which Ace fell asleep three times, Luffy got kicked by Sanji twice, and Zoro's boots got chewed by Wado, everyone slowly left the kitchen. Franky had eagerly led a smiling Robin away to show her his latest "SUPA!" Invention. Nami had excused herself, explaining to the devastated Sanji that she needed to update her map. Chopper had decided he wanted to show Wado around the ship, and so the puppy had bounded after the reindeer. Brooke had mysteriously wandered away for seemingly no reason, while Ace had practically dragged a confused Smoker away. Usopp and Sanji exchanged a knowing glance, before sneaking away, seemingly to leave Zoro and Luffy with the job of washing the plates. This was something Zoro proceeded to do in bad grace, mumbling and cursing under his breath. It wasn't until he'd finished washing the last plate that he realised Luffy hadn't been helping at all, and instead had gleefully discovered that the fridge door had been 'accidentally' left unlocked.

"Zoro, Zoro! Look!" He said, reaching up to the top of the enormous fridge. "Sanji made whipped cream! I wonder what-" Zoro stared as the wet bowl slipped from Luffy's grasp, before somersaulting slowly in the air and landing with a dry but gentle thwack upside-down on Luffy's head, effectively covering him in whipped cream. The rubber-boy blinked. Zoro laughed.

"Luffy, you look ridiculous!" He spluttered. His captain gently removed the bowl from his head, before scowling at Zoro and flicking a large glob of thick cream at him. It landed on the swordsman's nose, stopping his laughter short. Grinning, Luffy shrugged off his top, before scowling at it, dropping it onto the floor and returning to the contents of the fridge. Zoro licked his lips. He'd seen Luffy without his shirt plenty of times, but never with the feelings he currently harboured. He watched as Luffy bent down – in jeans that suddenly looked extremely tight compared to his normal baggy jeans – with a whoop of excitement.

"Zoro, look! Golden Syrup!" He said, showing his first mate the tin. Zoro grunted, and watched as Luffy grabbed a spoon from the drawer and attempted to scoop a large dollop of it into his mouth. Most of it missed. Zoro watched in tense fascination as a large, golden drop slid down Luffy's neck, across his collar bone, traced out defined chest muscles, before oozing across the pirates fair skinned stomach and going beyond, towards…

Zoro flushed gently at the mental image. If he didn't know any better, he would swear that his childish captain was trying to _seduce _him…

Which was ridiculous. Luffy was the reincarnation of Naïve optimism. Although he'd always found ways of proving Zoro wrong before…

Luffy pouted. Zoro wasn't acting how he was meant to be acting at all… when _Ace _hadused this trick, he'd had Chris practically drooling over him by this point. Although Zoro had more self restraint then most people…

Fine. It looked like he'd have to jump to his master card. Wordlessly he delved into the freezer part of the fridge, and returned with a small, wrapped, icy treat. A Popsicle. A supposedly innocent child's ice lolly. Of course, anyone who looked at a popsicle without being able to think of at least one way to mentally torture boyfriends was either entirely too innocent, or had a complete lack of imagination. Luffy unwrapped it, before propping the edge against pursed lips, slowly sucking the tip. Zoro swallowed. With a painful slowness, Luffy pushed the Popsicle into his mouth half way, scrapping his teeth gently against the edge. Zoro placed both hands on the counter behind him, gripping it hard. Pulling the ice treat out again, Luffy used his tongue to artfully swirl around the edge, before licking down its length with a sultry, almost sinful moan. Zoro's pants tightened suddenly. Luffy knowingly smirked to himself as he watched the older man's reactions. Only a tiny bit more to push him over the edge… licking back to the tip, Luffy paused for a second to ensure he had Zoro's full and rapt attention, before, in one shift push, back-throated the whole thing. The wood beneath Zoro's hands splintered. Deciding to end it there, Luffy turned, and was about to disappointedly finish the Popsicle when a large hand fell on his shoulder, turning to slim boy around. Luffy had mere seconds to gaze into sharp green eyes before coarse lips claimed his own. Wide chocolate eyes fluttered closed, and Luffy moaned into the kiss, sounding at least doubly more tempting then he had with the Popsicle. Zoro took Luffy's moan as a green light, and tentatively slipped his tongue through parted pink lips. He nervously, hesitantly tasted his captain, worried that at any moment he was going to do something wrong, that he'd step over an invisible boundary, and Luffy was going to push him away in disgust. This didn't happen. Instead, Luffy lifted one hand, pulling Zoro's head down and deeper into the kiss, and taking one of Zoro's large, battle-worn hands in his other own smaller hand, guiding it to his hip in a strange twist of events. Zoro would have never thought that Luffy would be the one to guide his partner in a thousand years, and yet, there he was… Luffy broke away gently, panting for breath, and gave Zoro a small, tentative smile. Swallowing carefully, Zoro let one hand fall to accompany his hand on Luffy's waist, before slowly undoing the first button of Luffy's jeans. Instead of the panic, the careful retreating or even the sudden retraction Zoro had been expecting, Luffy just grinned, and looped his arms around Zoro's neck.

"Finally…" He whispered, and giggled, before reclaiming _his _swordsman's lips.

Outside, Sanji's eyebrow twitched, one eye pressed carefully against the gap in the slightly open kitchen door. The bastards… Nami, Ace and Nami –armed with a camera – had been spy- ahem, _keeping an eye _on the two the whole time, which had been agony for Sanji; he'd almost fallen into despair at the mess Luffy had made with the whipped cream and golden syrup, and Ace had had to hold him back to stop him from skewering Zoro when the counter-wood had broken beneath his strong grip. And now, as he hurriedly closed the door to save his eyes from a sight he never wanted to even imagine… they weren't really going to do it in _his _kitchen, were they? However, on the other side of the door, another door opened and closed, reassuring Sanji.

"They've gone up to the crows nest…" He said, pulling away from the door. Robin giggled from her seat next to Franky.

"Look's like the crows next has become quite the rendezvous spot. Isn't that right, Commodore-san?" Smoker flushed. Next to him, Ace was grinding his teeth. Some part of him still wanted to march in and wrench that pervert away from his little brother…

However, the bigger part of him was impressed with Luffy. He knew Luffy had picked up some techniques, but to think he was this skilled… The pyromaniac neglected the fact that it wasn't meant to be the kind of thing to be proud of. It was pretty damn impressive, however you looked at it.

Nami just giggled. She'd gotten some quality pictures there; as soon as they reached the island, which should be sometime early next morning, Nami was going to be rich!

Wado perked up one ear in curiosity, before deciding that whatever it was wasn't worth the trouble and returned to playing with Usopp and Chopper, accompanied by some playful jumpy music from Brooke.

**A note from ME! ** Finally! The good stuff! XD

*Z-D* IOh good, you're back… *Sarcastically*

*Me* Zoro-kun's so mean…

Preview!:_ "Zoro smirked._

"_Have fun last night?" He asked, quoting Luffy's words from yesterday morning. Smoker res[onded with a raised eyebrow as the marine looked pointedly as the blanket wrapped around the swordsman's waist._

KYAAA! XD, CYA NEXT TIME! XD


	8. Missing Lovers and Blackmail

**A note from ME! **I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… This chapter was a real bitch, and I've got Exams, and maHOOsive writers block at one point… TTATT

Honestly, I can't say that enough…

So I'm just gonna start with the reviews…

*Zoro-Devil* Damn straight… first one's from ThiefkingBakura

*Me* I'm gonna call you Bakura-chan from now on… XD, thank you! I try! And don't worry, there'll be a lot more pissed Ace soon… XD

*Z-D* o.0'

*Luffy-Angel* *Giggles* Next is XxSmILIng-FAceOf-JoKERxX

*Me* Cool name! And I KNOW! It's about time someone hammered it into his head!

*Z-D* Oi oi… here's one from SailorSun118

*Me* Hehe… sorry for the wait… And that story line sounds really cool, but I've got the plot of this one pretty much mapped out already… However, if you don't want to write your idea yourself, I'd be happy to do it! And if you do, then I'll Beta it for you! XD

*L-A* Here's Lectori-chan's!

*Me* XD, Yeah, there's actually a story behind the Formations, but I probably won't be able to find a chance to include it in this… maybe I should write a separate one-shot about it?

*Z-D* Just what we need… another fan-girl fuelled storyline. Here's another one from YoruichiKittyCat16.

*Me* Eh he… *Blushes* Thanks! And I'm sorry for the wait…

*L-A* Hey! It's one from Anie-chan!

*Me* *Instant Emo-corner* One of my favourite reviewers… I've left her waiting for over a month… she's probably given up on this… Anyway! Have you ever heard the saying "Monkey see, monkey do"? Yeah, Luffy's a lot like that… ^.^'

*Z-D* 0.o' I'll be nice… Here's one from Hardy The Monkey.

*Me* *Wipes away drool* Yaah! XD

*L-A* Next is one from Cloudydaze!

*Me* Hehe, thank you… unfortunately it won't be fluffy for long… this story was originally just gonna be fluff, but I love it too much, so yeah, there's actually gonna be a plot…

*Z-D* What? You never told us that… Here's the last one, by the way, from VeekaIzhanez.

*Me* Yah! XD, thankies!

Anyway, here's the story! And don't worry, this chapter's not as angsty as the title suggests!

*Disclaimer* Yeah… that's all.

**Chapter 8**

**Missing Lovers and Blackmail**

Upon waking up in the morning to find that the comforting weight of their lover they'd been holding in their arms throughout the night had gone, most people would assume that their partner had just gotten up to get some coffee, or went to take a piss or another such mundane task. However, spend any amount of time with the Straw-hat crew, and if you wake up in that sort of situation, then alarm bells instantly start ringing, no matter what really happened.

That's why, when Zoro and Smoker woke up in two separate areas of the ship, their lower halves covered by a thin blanket, and their arms empty and cold, they were instantly on red alert, already afraid of what their hyper younger half could do on their own.

Standing up and letting the blanket fall off his lower half, Zoro looked out of the window. While Robin and Franky were there, talking almost calmly with each other – Franky occasionally jumped up and yelled "Supa!" so loud that even Zoro could hear it – there was no sign of his hyper monkey. Sighing, Zoro wrapped the blanket around his lower half, knowing that to walk to the men's quarters without some kind of lower body cover was to invite death, before heading down the stairs.

Curiously, Sanji wasn't in the kitchen. Nor was Usopp, or Nami, or any other member of the straw-hat crew. Zoro frowned. There was always someone in the kitchen in the morning, sipping on coffee or munching on toast. Shrugging, Zoro continued through the kitchen and out onto the deck, before heading to the guy's Cabin hatch, noting that during the night they had arrived at the busy port city on the island. As he did so, Smoker emerged from a door on the other side of the ship. Unlike Zoro, he was fully dressed in his usual clunky boots, thick trousers and Marine jacket, but there were certain… signs, lets say. For instance, the ever so slight dark mark underneath his eyes, or the crumples and tiny, barely noticeable tear in the leg of his trousers which made them look like they'd been pulled off hurriedly, or the hickey that was showing just above the jackets collar. Zoro smirked.

"Have fun last night?" He asked, quoting Luffy's words from yesterday morning. Smoker responded with a raised eyebrow as the marine looked pointedly at the blanket wrapped around the swordsman's waist.

"I could say the same to you…" He commented dryly as he past Zoro on the way to the kitchen. "Any idea where Portgas is?" Zoro paused as he lifted up the hatch to the men's bedroom.

"You don't know?" He asked. Smoker looked back to see Zoro's frowning face, before the green-haired man turned to bellow up to the top deck.

"OI! Robin, Franky!" There was a smash of broken glass, before an awkwardly chuckling Franky leaned over the railing.

"Y… yeah?" Zoro and Smoker looked at each other.

"What were you doing?"

"N… nothing!" Franky stammered, and blushed. _Blushed_. Zoro decided not to press it.

"Where's everyone gone?" He asked.

"They've all gone onto the island to go shopping."

"All of them?"

"Yeah. Me and Robin are about to join them. Nami nee-chan told me to tell you that you're guarding the ship."

"Hah?" Zoro growled. Sure, he was probably going to stay on the Thousand Sunny anyway, given the choice, but it would have been nice to have a… what was that word? Ah yes. _Choice._ What a wonderful word… A word he hadn't been making much use of since joining Luffy…

Zoro smiled as he jumped through the hatch into the guy's cabin and grabbed some clothes from one of the bolted down closets. Even joining Luffy was exactly a choice… Although, he had to admit, everything turned out to be to both of their… advantages, per se.

Dressing and climbing back up the ladder, Zoro considered all of his not so choices he had made since becoming the first member of the straw-hat crew. It wasn't like Luffy had _meant _for it to end up this way… It's just that, no matter what happened, the guy had so much luck that pretty much everything played right into his rather clueless hands. It was kinda funny… Zoro snorted as he saw Franky and Robin walking away from the ship. Smoker must've left already… Ace would be upset…

… Maybe.

* * *

Luffy glanced into the shop window, Wado perched on his head, before frowning and running to the next shop, and the next, and the next. Nami, Chopper and Brooke followed at a more leisurely pace, looking interestedly and carefully into each shop window.

"Franky and Robin are lucky…" Chopper decided. Nami looked down at him.

"How come?" She asked, confused. The small reindeer looked up at her.

"They've already got Zoro's presents." He told her, and Nami smiled as she remembered.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll love them. It just means we'll have to try harder, right Brooke?" Brooke laughed.

"I think I see a shop across the street, Chopper, which we can find something in." He said. Chopper's eyes sparkled in amazement and relief as the two crossed the street. Nami watched them go, smiling, before catching up with Luffy.

"Luffy, have you found anything yet?" She asked. Luffy frowned, shaking his head.

"I can't find _anything_ Zoro would want!" He whined. Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? There must be something…" She said, looking into the shop window. She snorted.

"Well, of course you can't find anything here…" She told her captain, trying not to laugh. Luffy looked at her, confused.

"Huh?"

"Luffy, this is a lingerie shop…" When she was answered with Luffy's blank stare, she shook her head. "It sells woman's underwear." Luffy made an 'Oh…' noise as comprehension dawned on him, before scowling. He looked around, and started as a shop caught his attention. No-one else seemed to notice it, and it was little wonder why; while most of the shops were large, bright and important looking, this one was small, secluded and dark. However, it was the fact that it neglected matching up to the other shops that drew Luffy to it, and he wandered to it. Nami watched him curiously, before shrugging. She was sure he could look after himself. Meanwhile, Nami had shopping herself to do…

Luffy pushed open the door, peering into the musty shop. While on the outside it looked dark and foreboding, inside was actually kinda cosy… Flickering yellow light rebounded off the deep red walls from strategically placed candles which emitted the tangy scent of Oranges. At the centre of the room was a low, redwood coffee table, piled high with books, surrounded by several comfortable looking, light red armchairs. Around the edges of the room were differently shaped, small tables, each one holding a different curiosity… a beautiful golden bird statue, a small painting of a sleeping tiger and a necklace made out of tiny ocean blue stones being only a few of the beautiful oddities. Luffy peered at each of them in interested astonishment, observing the incredible detail. When Wado slipped off his hat, he scooped the red dog into his arms, continuing to look at the beautiful pieces in front of him. However, he shook his head.

"Zoro wouldn't like any of this fancy stuff…" He decided, and was about to leave when he saw it. A long, grey necklace, much like the one Zoro had bought for Luffy, lay separate from the other items, on a green pillow, so out of place from the red surroundings. On the necklace was a chunky grey disk, and Luffy reached out a hand, thin fingers grasping the disk and easily finding the catch on it before flipping it open. As he did, he noticed he suddenly became incredibly tired, and leaned against the table for support as he observed his find. It was a Locket… Closing it again, he looked at the engraving on the front; a Chinese dragon curled elegantly round the locket's face. Luffy grinned, before looking up at the youngish girl with dark, shoulder-length hair who had just walked through the door on the other side of the room, and had stopped in shock when she saw him.

"Wow, a customer!" She marvelled, and Luffy grinned at her, snatching up the locket as he turned to face her fully.

"Yo. Can you tell me how much this is?" He asked, showing her the locket while adjusting Wado in his other arm. The girl looked at the watch.

"I'm kinda surprised… not only did you actually come into this shop, but you pick out the least valuable item here!" She laughed, as if to show it wasn't a bad thing. Telling Luffy the price, the girl waited while he counted out the money.

"How come it's not as valuable?" He asked. The girl shrugged.

"It's just not as pretty… It's made out of Sea Stone, which means that, while it's strong and will withstand any amount of beating, it's meant to be fairly unattractive. I kinda like it though – it's unique. Is it a present for someone?" Luffy nodded, grinning, and the girl laughed as she pulled out a length of dark red tissue paper.

"I thought so. It's not really the kind of thing you'd buy for yourself, is it?" The two laughed as the girl handed the wrapped up locket to Luffy, and Luffy left the shop.

"Bye! I hope the person likes his present!" The girl called after him. Luffy waved to her happily. He had Zoro's present, finally…

* * *

Nami stood outside of the island's marine Base, watching the Marines carefully. The fact that none of them looked like they were in any hurry was encouraging – it meant that they didn't know that the Straw-hats had arrived at the island yet, which meant that either Smoker hadn't arrived at the base yet, or he had chosen not to tell the Marines about them. Nami was certain that it was the former – Smoker was a dedicated Marine, and while he might have let them go before at Alabasta, he wasn't about to let go of such a perfect chance to catch the pirates, especially as they were now seen as sworn enemies of the marines. That was why Nami had to get to Smoker before he reached the base.

"Think of the devil…" She whispered, slinking around the building she was in front of to lean against the side wall, out of side of the Marine Commodore who was striding confidently up the road. Looking around for a way to get Smoker's attention, she scooped up some stones and tossed them over her shoulder. Obviously, they all went straight through the Marine, leaving thin smoky trails as they did so, but they got the desired effect. Within seconds strings of smoke wrapped around Nami's ankles, growing thicker before billowing up to form the grey-haired man. Smoker glared at her.

"Cat-thief." He nodded curtly. Nami knew it was the best she could hope for from Smoker, and, in a way, she was a bit proud – it was normally only the strongest members of the crew, like Luffy and Zoro, got called by their Wanted Poster Nicknames.

"Commodore." She answered cheekily. Smoker's eyes narrowed dangerously as he judged whether he should just take in the Navigator and not bother with the trouble of paying attention to what she wanted.

"Well, I was wondering, since we saved you from the ocean, and gave you a bed for the night, and fed you, and brought you back here-"

"You're pirates. I owe you nothing." Smoker said, already predicting what the thief was going to say.

"Look, Smoker, I only need you to keep quiet about us being here for two days, while the Log Post sets. Just two days, and then we'll be gone, and you can keep chasing us." Nami reasoned. Smoker growled.

"Or I could just take you in right now." He said, motioning to the Marine Base. Nami smirked.

"You could…" She said teasingly, taking something from her pocket. "But then your superiors might get their hands on these rather charming photo's of you and Ace…" She hinted, waving some pictures in the marine's face. Smoker glanced at them, and turned pale.

"You… when the hell did you…"

Nami pulled her hand away when Smoker tried to grab the incriminating pictures from her hand and, pulling out the front of her top, slipped them between her ample breasts. Smoker glowered at her, grinding his two cigars between his teeth, and considered his options. He could just take the photo's – he was sure he could easily overpower the slim woman – but it a Marine Commodore beating and sticking his hand down the top of a women in a crowded street would hardly be the best scene in the world…

"Fine." He grunted, turning away. "Two days. If you're not gone by then, I'm leading a squad to take all of you, photo's or not." Nami grinned.

"Thank you."

"And I want those photos before you leave!" Smoker snapped over his shoulder as he walked back through the busy street, the navigator waving him off.

* * *

Zoro lifted his head from the mast of the ship and opened one eye when he heard footsteps climbing up the ramp of the ship. Usopp and Sanji came into view, tugging a wagon full of individually wrapped brown parcels, and had obviously come back from food shopping. Sanji was laughing at a story Usopp was telling – which was weird, since he generally disregarded the long-nosed liar's stories, but Zoro ignored it, resting his head back against the mast.

"Yo." He called. The two men froze, and Usopp started sweating.

"Oi, lazy bastard. Don't just lie around, get up and be useful for once." Sanji called, almost masking his earlier hesitance. Zoro narrowed his eyes. The cook had paused for a second, only a second, but, added to Usopp's sweating and the weird way Brooke had been acting the day before, when he locked himself in a cupboard upon seeing his fellow swordsman, it told Zoro that something was up, and it revolved around him.

"Geez, first you insist on pushing me and Luffy together, and now you're up to something else…" He grunted, standing up. Sanji scowled, and was about to say something when Zoro waved a hand.

"I'm gonna go train…" He said, walking towards the kitchen. Usopp and Sanji stared after him.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later when, his curiosity finally sated, Luffy returned, Wado perched once more on his hat. When Usopp asked if he'd bought Zoro his present, he nodded happily, and, without pausing to answer either Usopp or Sanji's questions ran to the cabin's to hide it. Once he'd done that, he and Wado went on a search for his unsuspecting swordsman. As the two were searching, Brooke and Chopper returned, happy with their presents for the first mate, followed after a while by Nami, who was carrying a bag featuring a pet-store on the island and hijacked Wado, who whimpered when he sniffed what seemed to be his impending doom. Luffy laughed as he called his apologies to the puppy over his shoulder.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" Usopp asked as his hyperactive captain ran past him for the fifth time in as many minutes. Luffy turned to face him, holding his infamous hat to his head.

"I'm looking for Zoro!" He told him. "But I can't find him anywhere…" The boy looked troubled. Sanji, who was just walking out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron, frowned.

"Marimo said earlier that he was going to train… I thought he headed to the crows Nest." He said. Luffy shook his head.

"I've already checked there…" a tiny bark attracted the pirate's attention, and Luffy turned, watching in amusement as Wado scampered away from an irate Nami, dressed in a sparkly orange dog suit, with matching glittery gloves on his feet. Scooping the puppy up, Luffy looked at the outfit as Wado whined, poking the captain's face with his wet nose.

"I'm sorry, boy… Let's get this off." Luffy apologised, tugging off the gloves.

"LUFFY!" Nami protested, annoyed. "It took ages to get him into that outfit, he kept struggling!" Luffy laughed.

"He doesn't like it, Nami. Come on, Wado." He told the puppy as he placed him down, now free of the restraining suit. Wado yipped happily and followed his master off the ship, glad to get away from the sparkly monstrosity. Luffy waved without turning, heading god only knew where. Sanji and Nami looked at each other, worried.

**A note from ME!**

*Faints*

No preview this week, I'm afraid… =(

Not sure when I'll get the next chappie up…

Please Review! Even if I betrayed your trust by not updating for so long…


	9. Swirl Island

**A note from ME! **I'm soooooorry! I actually finished this chapter a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to post it up!

*Zoro-devil* baka…

*me* Shut up! Just give me the reviews…

*Luffy-angel* Hai! First one is from Yoruichikittycat16!

*Me* I know! Nami's such a meanie…

*Zoro-devil* Not the word's I would use… next is Anie-chan

*Me* Yah! XD, we should punish Zoro for being so mean! Hello puppy! *Huggles* Owie! Puppy bit me… TT_TT XD, It's not his real time birthday, unfortunately, and I'm not doing his birthday just for fluff, either! XD

*Luffy-angel* Shishishi! Next one is from Lectori-chan!

*Me* XD, all the One Piece characters seem to have their cute times… And thank you!

*Zoro-devil* *Rolls eyes* Here's one from Claretgirl0

*Me* Hehe, there's a little bit more SmoAce in this chapter for you! XD

*Luffy-angel* Yah! More Ace! Next is one from Krylancelo!

*Me* Lol, here you go!

*Zoro-devil* *Yawns* Lauren's next.

*Me* XD, hai!

*Luffy-angel* next is… 0.o PleasentlyStrange…

*Me* I'M SOOOOOORRY! *Cries*

*Zoro-devil* Sucks to be you. Next is Baka-senchou…

*Me* XD, yah Zolu smex! Here you go!

*Luffy-Angel* What's smex?

*Zoro-devil* 0/0

*Luffy-angel* Huh? Oh well, next is five chapters from Mockingbird13

*Me* Wow… XD I'm glad you liked it! And I thought, there really was no chance that Smoker would let the crew get away otherwise… XD

*Zoro-devil* You're a cruel woman… next is two reviews from Cutielovergirl

*Me* XD, thank you! Lol, I'm an older sibling just like Ace, with a brother just like Luffy, so I can kinda relate to him, and I think I might act the same way… I'd be fine with my brothers sexuality, but I would defiantly keep an eye on the other guy… And as for the RoNa thing, I'm not really that into Yuri. I'm not against it, but I'm more into Het and Yaoi pairings, and I feel that you've really got to be passionate about the things you're writing for them to come out successfully…

*Luffy-angel* My head hurts… last is blackcat21223

*Me* thank you! Here you go!

*Sighs* now that I've gotten all of those out of the way, here's the story!

**Chapter 9**

**Swirl Island**

Zoro scowled.

"Who moved the ship?" He wondered aloud, rubbing the back of his head as he walked down the beach, ultimately walking away from the boat.

"I go out for a swim, and they move the damn ship! When I get my hands on that bitch, I'll…" his grumblings continued as he walked, deep in thought. He hadn't thought about it until then, but tomorrow was his birthday… he had never been interested in it, but he wondered if he should have told Luffy? His captain would probably be annoyed if he missed out on the chance to party… Zoro shrugged. What Luffy didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, it wasn't as if it was important; receiving gifts for something Zoro had put no effort into seemed pointless to the swordsman, and it always had.

"Maybe I should go for another swim…" He grumbled, before realizing that he wasn't actually by the ocean anymore. He looked round, confused for a moment, before dismissing it and walking again. It would pop up soon…

"ZORO! ZOOOOORO!" Luffy called, before giggling and looking down at Wado, who was trotting faithfully at his side.

"Zoro's got lost again…" He commented, before having an idea. It was rare, but it did happen. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out one of Zoro's bandannas – he had stolen it when he was trying to provoke Zoro into playing tag a couple of days ago, but had been dismayed when the green-haired man simply pulled out a spare and tied that one around his arm instead – and bent down, offering it to Wado, who sniffed it curiously.

"Fetch!" He ordered. Wado barked once, before scurrying into the forest surrounding the island, a single red streak amongst the dark greens of the thick undergrowth, Luffy following unfazed.

"ZOOORO!" Zoro turned just in time to catch a flying Luffy in the stomach. Around him, people in the street paused to stare curiously at them, before glancing up at the sky and hurrying forward, pulling coats and shawls tightly around themselves. Luffy's hair was soaking wet, and dripped on Zoro's face as the pirate pushed himself up, sitting on Zoro's chest, and grinned down.

"There you are!" Luffy commented. "I was looking for you!" Zoro scowled.

"You guys moved the ship!" He snapped, sitting up. Luffy slid gracelessly off his lover's chest and into his lap, and laughed.

"No, you got lost again." He stated. Zoro was prevented from arguing when the black-haired man leaned forward and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. Blushing, Zoro decided not to pursue the subject.

"A-Anyway, why are you wet?" He asked, looking round as a wet Wado curled up next to his hand on the ground. Luffy laughed his loud, contagious laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah, I fell in a river, but Wado pulled me out! He's really strong!" Zoro looked at the tiny, worn out puppy, and stroked his head gratefully. Luffy was an idiot, and was never careful enough, so it was relieving to know that the puppy, which was around Luffy pretty much 24/7 now, had the ability to keep an eye on his unruly master.

Standing up – Luffy tumbling out of his lap and onto the floor with a soft thud – Zoro looked around. He was no weather expert, but he didn't need to be Nami to know that the air felt decidedly wrong… It was almost _heavy_. Dark clouds loomed in the distance, and were growing nearer by the minute.

"Come on…" Zoro said, pulling Luffy up by the back of his top, and scooping up Wado into his muscled arms. "I don't like the look of those clouds."

"I don't like the look of any cloud…" Luffy said as the two walked down the street. "They always block out the sun… but clouds which bring snow are okay… and clouds in Alabasta are okay too… and those really thick, fluffy clouds which you can make shapes out of are okay… and the thin clouds which look like candyfloss, and the bouncy clouds from sky island, and clouds that bring rain are cool sometimes, and clouds with hurricanes are really fun, and-" Zoro was saved from his younger half's ramblings by a shout.

"Oooooooi! You two!" Luffy looked behind him and down the road, where the girl who had sold him the Locket for Zoro stood by her shop, waving her arms. Confused, he waved back. Zoro glanced down at him.

"Someone you know?" He asked, subconsciously wrapping one possessive arm around Luffy's slim waist and tugging him closer. Luffy grinned up at him.

"Kinda, she sold me something today."

"Sold you what?"

"Er… nothing, she didn't sell me anything…" Luffy answered shiftily, looking away and shuffling from foot to foot. Zoro rolled his eyes. His captain was such a bad liar…

"YOU TWO!" The girl screamed. Zoro turned to face her, annoyed.

"WHAT?" He bellowed.

"ARE YOU NUTS? GET INSIDE!" The girl screamed back, beckoning them over. When Zoro grudgingly walked forward, she opened the door to her shop and tried to shove them in. Too tired to get in an argument, Zoro humoured her. The girl slipped in behind them and started to bolt the door, using several locks, blocking up the gaps with a kind of putty and leaning a large chair against it. Wiping her forehead, she finally turned to Luffy and Zoro.

"Jeez, I know you guys aren't from around here, but you could at least try to learn something about an island before wandering around on it!" She said, walking past them. "Ah well, too late now. Would you like something to eat while we're waiting for the hurricane to pass?" She asked. Luffy perked up.

"Yeah!" He said eagerly. Zoro shoved his head down.

"No thank you." He said wisely. "What were you saying about hurricanes?" The girl sat down in a great, plush red chair, beckoning them into two more. Zoro sat in one, but, to reasons known only to him, Luffy plucked Wado out of his arms, turned around and sat on his swordsman's lap, cradling Wado. Zoro raised an eyebrow, but if the shopkeeper had anything to say, she kept quiet. Instead, she pulled a map out of the mess of books on the coffee table, spreading it out as she explained. The island they were on – aptly named 'Swirl Island' – was near a place in the sea with constant high pressure, causing Hurricanes to form which were blown over by a strong eastern winds. When asked whether their ship would be okay, they were assured that any Navigator worth their salt would pull anchor at the far north of the island, which was furthest from the Hurricane's line of destruction and was very rarely affected.

Standing up and stretching, the girl left to make the three of them drinks. Before leaving, she looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm Helen, by the way." When Zoro started to introduce them, Helen waved it away.

"Don't worry, I already know who you are…" She said, smiling, and leaving.

Smoker scowled as he marched through the Marine base. Being a commodore, you would think that the Marine had much more important things to do then issue Hurricane warnings, which was what he'd been doing for the last hour.

"These people have been living here for long enough, you'd think they learn to figure out for themselves how to block a damn door!" He grumbled as he slammed into his temporary room – mercifully a single – and shrugged off his coat.

"Aw, I thought that was meant to be my job…" Smoker spun round. _No way, he's not… when the hell did he get in?_

Ace grinned at Smoker's stunned, infuriated look, and stepped forward.

"Hey Smokey. You look tense…" He teased; ducking under Smoker's arm – which had swung out in a futile attempt to decapitate the apparently unwelcome pirate – Ace circled around the Marine, and firmly kneaded the White Haired man's back, wincing as Smoker let out a choked grunt, trying to hold back a grateful moan.

"You're back at work for a few hours, and you're already this stressed? Man, I don't think I would survive…" He commented, leading the two back towards the bed as he started to smoothly run his thumbs into the middle of the older man's back, revelling in each barely suppressed moan. "Have you ever thought about letting someone pamper you for once?"

"No time…" Smoker growled, remembering where they were and abruptly pulling away.

"There's time now…" Ace whispered, placing his chin on Smoker's shoulder. "That's what I'm here for… You made me feel soooo good" He blew into the man's ear while wrapping his arms around Smoker's chest. "That I think I should repay the favour…" With a sudden jerk, Smoker was sprawled uncomfortably on the small, single bed, Ace kneeling by his head. The fire-user grinned as he pulled the Marine up to sit with his back facing Ace.

"Whaaaaa…" Smoker's demand to know what Ace was going to do was cut short by a guttural, hissed moan as Ace started massaging the Smoke-user's shoulders.

"Don't worry." Ace commanded. "I'll be gone long before morning. Loosen up…" Giving in, Smoker leant back into Ace's expert hands. After a few minutes, in a rash, spur of the moment decision which he would probably never repeat, Smoker turned his head and caught Ace in a strong, heated kiss. Ace smirked into it.

_Ah, good old Formation five…_

**A note from ME! **There you go! I'm afraid that's the last bit of SmoAce you'll receive… I can't keep them in the story forever!

Next week is a special bumper starting the plot chapter, so enjoy!

Preview: _"We've really mastered the art of surviving a hurricane, huh?" She commented. Zoro frowned._

"_If hurricanes are so frequent, why stay here?" He asked, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around the radiator that was Luffy as he realised how cold it was. Helen bit back a squeal as she pondered her answer._

"_Well, I don't know everyone else, but for me, living here means living near the "Pirate truths" office…_

Please review! See you next week!


	10. Pirate Truths

**A note from ME! **Yo! I actually updated at a reasonable time this time! Shock! Horror! Is it raining? XD

Reviews reviews! XD Gimme gimme gimme!

*Zoro-devil* I think I preferred you when you were depressed…

*Me* REVIEWS!

*Z-D* Hai, hai… First is from Yoruichikittycat16…

*Me* I think I'll call you Yoru-chan… I know, I wanna have a Wado! He's cute, and cuddly, and uber strong! XD

*Luffy-Angel* Next is from Mcgooen-chan!

*Me* HYes, Ace happens to be the expert on all things flirtatious. *Nods* I'll get round to writing about the other formations in a little one shot… XD I might make it SmoAce, since I've had so much fun writing their parts… XD

*Z-D* Next review is from Ninjapirate101…

*Me* THANKIES! And I'm sorry… :'( BUT Starting in a few chapters time, they'll be a NEW super special awesome pairing… XD Sleep is good… you shouldn't deprive yourself of it… you're making me feel guilty! XD

Anyway, here you go! Here's the next chapter!

**Chapter 10**

**Pirate Truths**

The storm lasted all of an hour, which normally wasn't too long or even bad for storms on Swirl Island. However, trying to keep Luffy in one place for an hour was proving to be an almost impossible job. While Helen was having a great time playing with Wado – the girl had been petting and rolling with the dog for half an hour, and showed no sign of getting bored – Luffy didn't have the same ability. Luffy had been amused with Helen's equally childish nature for about four seconds, before choosing to tour her house above her shop instead. Zoro, naturally, followed. To make sure Luffy didn't break anything, of course.

"Oi, don't look around someone's house without asking." Zoro told his captain, following after him up a narrow flight of stairs. Luffy waved his hand flippantly.

"Don't worry, she won't mind." He said in what was probably meant to be a reassuring way, but was anything but reassuring to the Swordsman. However, looking around, he found it hard to believe Helen would mind. Everything about the shop and apartment was personalised, it seemed, as if she wanted to show everyone everything about her life, who she was and why she was here. Pictures hung in the hall, presenting people of all ages smiling and cheering. Helen herself featured in one or two of them, but the majority were of other people. Various half-hearted doodles covered the originally white walls, and on one door a deep red and orange cherry blossom had been sprayed on, shining proudly among the plain walls and doodles. Luffy, predictably, walked straight to this door, opening it while lightly calling "I'm coming in!"

Behind him, Zoro snorted at the fake show of politeness.

"Wow, cool!" Luffy's voice floated back to the swordsman, awestruck. "Zoro, come look at this!" Rolling his eyes, Zoro obeyed his captain's commands.

"What the…" The first thing he saw was the books. They were stacked in precarious piles in the book case, resting on the desks, tipping off the chairs, scattered across the floor, there was even three or four open ones resting on an unmade bed. The second thing he noticed was the insane, gaudy clash of colours and cultures. The walls were red, the carpet was orange, the curtains were blue, the selves and wardrobe was plain and mature, the Grand Piano was rustic and dramatic, the mound of gadgets on the bedside cabinet were expensive looking and modern, and countless numbers of soft toys were scattered across the bed. Zoro blinked. The room was the epitome of chaos, proving that Helen had obviously no organizational skill.

Tearing his eyes from the nightmare surrounding him, Zoro made his way to Luffy, who was holding a red file, standing next to a paint-stained desk.

"Look!" He said, holding out the file. Zoro took it, flicking through it. He frowned.

"That's… creepy." He decided. In the file was every wanted poster and newspaper clip featuring Luffy. Zoro hadn't even read most of them; the majority seemed to come from an unofficial newspaper labelled "Pirate truths." Some of them weren't even proper news, but results in popularity polls and quizzes. The month before, apparently, Luffy had been voted as one of the "Top three most huggable pirates", and a few months before that, a quiz had been released about how much you knew about Luffy. Zoro scanned through the answers, and snorted at one of the questions; 'What would you offer to buy Luffy at a restaurant? A, Steak, B, seafood pasta, or C, a chocolate dessert?' Answer? You wouldn't offer to buy him anything in the first place…

"Wow, this is… something…" Zoro said at length. Luffy held up a green folder while gesturing to an assortment of other coloured folders balanced on top of each other.

"There's one for all of us." He said, grinning. "It's pretty cool!" Zoro raised an eyebrow at his younger lover. Cool wasn't really the word he'd use to describe this… bizarre, maybe, or surreal… He'd seen the sorts of magazines that released these articles in the past, with shiny covers and pages, and normally sporting a picture of some fake looking pirate captain on the cover with a smile that could put milk to shame in terms of cheesiness. Taking the green folder – which he presumed was his own – Zoro flicked through it.

"Wow, some of these articles are ancient…" He marvelled, pausing at a particular article which had to have been written at least nine years ago, when he'd first been noticed as a sword-fighting prodigy. He remembered, because after that he'd received a flood of requests and invitation to grander, arguably better dojos, which he turned down. After all, at the time, he was still trying to beat Kuina… How Helen, living in the Grand Line, managed to get such an old paper all the way from East Blue, Zoro would never know. In fact, he forgot all about it when he turned to the next page, and came to a stop at the next article, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

_**Top Story: Roronoa Zoro, Blood thirsty monster or sensitive nice guy?**_

_One lucky Zoro fan must have been over the moon when they got the chance to take this exclusive, never-before –seen photo of the well-known Pirate Hunter (shown below). Patricia Clarke (aged 18) was out for a relaxing walk across the beautiful beaches of the Diego Island on the last day of her scenic holiday with her boyfriend Jamie Sanders (19) when she came across the infamous Straw-hat ship. Hoping to meet said pirates, Patricia hurriedly assured Jamie and dashed across the beach._

"_I was so excited," Patricia told our reporter. "You see, ever since they appeared for the first time in 'Ahoy!' I've been rooting for the Straw-hats. I must have been too excited, though, since I was barely two metres away from the ship when a huge boar jumped out at me and knocked me over!"_

_Patricia had accidentally strayed too close to this mother boar's new-borns in her dash to the ship. Enraged, the boar attacked, aiming to kill. With Jamie already heading back to the hotel to pack their bags, Patricia thought for sure that she had no chance of escape._

"_I panicked, obviously." Patricia adds. "I don't know what exactly happened, but one moment, this boar is trying to impale me, I'm just screaming my head off under it and the next, it's completely still, and was being pushed off me."_

_Lucky Patricia was spared from death by the courageous Pirate Hunter Zoro. With one swift movement, he slid one of his three swords cleanly through the boar's dense flesh and straight through its heart, before rolling it off Patricia and gallantly offering her a hand up, which she gratefully took._

"_He didn't say much to me." Patricia seemed down heartened by this fact, but perks up as she relays her next piece of story. "But once he'd made sure I was alright, he turned and walked to the trees. I followed him, curious, and watched as he scooped up three tiny little piglets, each barely the size of his hand! He looked so surprisingly gentle and kind, I couldn't help whipping out my camera and taking a picture!"_

_Before Patricia had the chance to ask any questions, however, Zoro had bid her goodbye and walked casually back towards the ship, still holding the vulnerable piglets._

_What does this tell us about the elusive Zoro? Is he really as stone-hearted as everyone originally assumed? Does he have a kinder, maybe even paternal side to him? Or has his journey with the outlandish Monkey D. Luffy softened his crusty exterior?_

Zoro snorted at the article. The 'Ahoy!' was just another glam mag, blowing every little story to crazy proportions. He had never killed the boar, just knocked it out. Luffy, with his unique bonds with animals had found the nest earlier on in the day – had even been allowed close enough to pet the piglets – and Zoro knew that killing the mother would damn the piglets. Besides, Luffy had looked so blissful, holding a piglet on his knee while the mother gently but curiously prodded his face with her snout. Zoro would have never of forgiven himself for taking away that smile. In the end, he had taken the piglets and the mother to Chopper, who was more then happy to care for them. And what was this bullshit about "Gallantly offering her his hand"? He wasn't the Ero-cook, after all! And he did NOT look "Gentle and kind"!

"Zoro looks nice." Zoro glanced at Luffy, who was looking over his shoulder at the picture on the article with a mischievous grin. Scowling, Zoro poked the rubber-man irritable. Luffy started to withdraw, but paused.

"I forgot something…" He said. Zoro turned his head fully to face him, his brow creasing as he scrutinised his friend. Luffy didn't look like he'd forgotten anything. His beloved hat was perched on his head, the arm-band Nami had given him still secured firmly around his arm…

…Which was why it came as a shock when Luffy leant forward and lightly brushed his lips against Zoro's. Zoro blinked calmly at him, internally wondering what he was expected to do. Was he meant to ignore it? Just smile calmly? Kiss him back?

After a few minutes of thinking, Luffy started to pout. When he'd seen Robin peck Franky on the lips just before Luffy left the ship, Franky had instantly responded. It had given Luffy an idea; Zoro may have kissed him, but he didn't seem to do anything without Luffy's urging, which wasn't what the pirate wanted.

"Zoro, are you an idiot?" He asked eventually. This, surprisingly, got an immediate result as Zoro firmly grabbed Luffy's jaw and pulled him into a strong kiss.

Helen paused as she glanced into her room, before ducking out of site. Thankfully, neither boy's noticed her, too engrossed in the kiss. It wasn't deep or passionate, but it was full of love and understanding. Helen sighed, looking down at Wado, who was nestled in her arms.

"I don't really know what's going on…" She murmured to the red bundle. "But it seems they've gotten past quite an important part of their relationship…" Giggling, she knocked on the door as she walked into her room. Zoro and Luffy reluctantly parted, glancing at her with bored, impatient looks.

"The storms died down now." She told them, glancing at the folder dangling from Zoro's hand. There was the slightest sign of a blush, before she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand.

"You saw the folders, huh…" She stated. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah! They're really cool!" He said, stepping back from Zoro – who clenched his fists to stop himself from holding on to the smaller man – to take the small dog off Helen.

"Well, you see, the main offices of 'Pirate truths' is located on Swirl Island," she explained as she led them back down to the shop. "And since I've done some freelance work for them in the past, they asked me to do a regular article on you guys for them. Because of this, I did a load of research on each member of the crew, to help me get a better understanding of you." Luffy chuckled as Wado nudged his cheek with his nose, before looking back at Helen.

"What's Pirate truths?" He asked as Helen started to unblock the front door. The shopkeeper looked over her shoulder at Luffy.

"You don't know?" She asked. When Luffy and Zoro just stared at her – why would Luffy had asked if he knew? – She turned to face them. "Pirate Truths is the only newspaper outside the world government's control, and so it's a lot less biased. It did an article about you guys a month or so back about you burning the world government flag, and it made a lot more sense then the official version." She told them as, with one hard pull, she managed to unblock the last of the door. Opening it, she smiled.

"Ah good, not too much damage this time." She commented, looking around at the street. One or two street lamps had been moved from their cemented position in the streets, and a bus shelter was bent and twisted into an almost unrecognisable state, but the buildings seemed almost untouched.

"We've really mastered the art of surviving a hurricane, huh?" She commented. Zoro frowned.

"If hurricanes are so frequent, why stay here?" He asked, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around the radiator that was Luffy as he realised how cold it was. Helen bit back a squeal as she pondered her answer.

"Well, I don't know everyone else, but for me, living here means living near the "Pirate truths" office. Even though I work as a shopkeeper, writing is my passion. But writing for the official newspapers is almost impossible… You have to swear loyalty to the government, and write about what the government want people to know… It makes it really harsh on writers like me, who want to tell people the truth… even books are being censored to suit the government's purpose…" Helen smiled at them. "The bottom line is that, in order to do the thing I love, I'll stick through any amount of hurricanes…"

Luffy stared at Helen, before grinning. "That's good." He told her, leaning into Zoro, who laughed.

"And at the same time you're undermining the government. Can't say I'm too disappointed…" Helen grinned at the two of them, before looking at her watch.

"It's getting late." She informed them. "I'm gonna hit the sack."

Luffy watched as she left, and grinned up at Zoro, who still had one arm wrapped around him for heat.

"Let's go back." He said, and Zoro nodded as he unwrapped his arm and the two walked away, Luffy talking happily, and Zoro occasionally nodding to show he was still listening. Neither noticed a shadow creep around the side of the shop, watching their departure.

**A note from ME! **GASP! A cliffie! Do you know what this means? There's an actual plot!

Hehe, I can't give you a preview, 'cause it would ruin the cliffie! See you next week! XD


	11. A request or two

**A note from ME! **NEVER. DOING. A CHAPTER THIS LONG AGAIN!

*Gasps* SEVEN PAGES! Geeze… you can tell at the end how annoyed with this chapter I was! TTATT It gets quite sloppy, but I'm too tired to fix that now…

Anyway, THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! *Squeals* Overprotectiveness is now officially my most reviewed story! And that was only from ten chapters! Yaah! XD

I've got a few references to other chapters here, so I've put in notes telling you which chapter to check if you don't remember what happened, 'cause I'm nice like that. XD

Now, reviews! XD, now, before we start, can I just say how much I love you guys? All of you reviewers, watchers and even the people who don't review or watch this story are what makes me adore writing. Before , I was always extremely shy about letting people see my writing, even my parents. However, you guys giving me a daily boost of ego have really affected me, and inspired me to actually take steps towards my ultimate goal. So, once more, thank you!

*Zoro-devil* Ugh, I'm gonna gag…

*Me* Well, if you're gonna be like that, Luffy, give me Anie-chan's review!

*Luffy-angel* HAI!

*Me* Ahem, I quote, "Zoro should be nice or I will call Lt. Tashigi to annoy him or hide Luffy!"

*Z-D* 0.o… I'll be good…

*Me* Thank you. *Giggles.* Anyway, thank you Anie-chan! Hehe, hi Jake! Look after Anie-chan, she's one of my favourite reviewers! And yeah, Luffy is adorable! *Glomps Luffy*

*Z-D* You're oddly clingy today… Anyway, next is Wyvren Wing.

*Me* Wyvren-chan! Hehe, thank you! I don't mind if you hadn't reviewed, I luv ya all anyway! *Huggles* Anyway, I'm sorry, it's neither of them! :'( I love both of those pairings, but, although I've deviated from the original story a little (lot) I don't want to introduce a character the crew haven't met/can't meet yet. XD, sorry!

*L-A* Aw, I wanna know now… Here's one from Lectori-chan!

*Me* Hehe, thank you! Don't worry, I forgive you! Oui, Wado-chan is so cute! I want a puppy like him! XD

*Z-D* *Rolls eyes* Next is one from Meowerz.

*Me* Hehe, Thankies! I aim to serve up top rate fluff!

*L-A* Last is from Ninjapirate101

*Me* ^/^ There are no words to described how much I squealed when I read this review! Here you go!

Story, START! XD

**Chapter 11**

**A request or two**

When Luffy, Zoro and Wado got back to the ship it was already dark, the almost full moon was hanging in the sky, casting eerie shadows across the deck. They were greeted by Franky, who told Zoro that it was his turn on watch, before leaving to go to bed – the poor guy had spent the last two nights on watch, since Luffy had been 'over wise engaged' the night before. Luffy pouted as he watched Franky climb down to the men's quarters.

"This means I can't sleep with you tonight…" He mumbled moodily, before perking up. "I'll do guard duty with you instead!" He said happily. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" He asked sceptically. When Luffy just beamed at him in reply, Zoro had to ask; "Why? You always complain that it's boring anyway…" Luffy's contagious grin never left his face as he shook his head.

"Nope! Because I'll be doing it with Zoro!" Zoro's face flushed at the bad choice of words, which Luffy didn't even notice. "And Nami said that couples are meant to do stuff together!"

Really… could Zoro argue against that?

Zoro sleepily opened his eyes. Spending so much time with the Straw-hat crew, he had almost a sixth sense, and could tell even in his sleep when someone had come onboard. It was a bit scary, really… Sitting up, he frowned when Luffy, wrapped round him like a baby monkey, clung possessively to him. The swordsman spent a few minutes trying to pry the rubber boy off him, before giving up, and walking down to the deck with his lover still firmly attached, Wado nestled snugly in between them.

"Oi." He called to the intruder, and Ace turned.

"Yo, Roronoa." He called nonchalantly, before noticing his little brother. The two men stood in silence for a while, until Ace snorted. Zoro coloured.

"He won't let go!" He snapped. Ace shook his head.

"Cute…" He muttered. "Hey, I bought the materials for my boat." He said. Zoro nodded, understanding. Ace would be leaving soon.

"Luffy will be upset." He said, pulling slightly at the rubber bundle. Between them, Wado sneezed, before looking up at him. Ace smiled lightly as the puppy squirmed out, landing clumsily on the floor, before running towards Ace.

"He'll be fine." Ace answered as he picked the dog up. "He has you, right?" Ace fixed Zoro with a look that he had received many times in the last few days. It was the 'Hurt my little brother and I will sneak into your room at night and set your pants on fire' look. Needless to say, Ace pulled it off very well. So well, Zoro could barely suppress the shiver that rolled up his spine.

"He does." Zoro answered. "And he always will." Ace seemed satisfied with the answer, as he nodded and left to bring the rest of his materials onboard. Zoro waited until he was out of earshot before sighing in relief.

Helen put down the book she was reading when she heard the loud knocking on the door of the shop. Frowning as she checked the time, she uncurled herself from her large, comfortable armchair and plodded barefoot to the door.

"Who's visiting at this time?" She wondered aloud. Unbolting the door, she let it swing open, then hurriedly slammed it closed when she saw the two large, buffed up men, both carrying guns.

"… Shit…" Biting her lip, she hurriedly bolted the door, locking every lock. The door was designed to withstand hurricanes, so there was no way the two men could break th-

Helen's eyes widened as the door buckled.

"That's... not good…" She turned heel and fled, grabbing a golden bird statue from one of the display tables as she did. Holding it close to her, she climbed the stairs up to her room, thinking furiously as she went. There were only two men, but both looked much stronger then her, and had guns. The only option she had was to run, and hide what they wanted. Biting her lip, she opened the window to her room, looking out. It suddenly looked like a very big drop… But she couldn't let anyone get the statue. Downstairs, there was a bang as the door was shoved off its hinges.

"Why me…" She groaned, and jumped.

Zoro yawned as he and Luffy made their way downstairs, listening vaguely to Luffy talking about the shops he saw when he was out the day before. Zoro started to open the door to the deck, but blinked when a sudden scream of "NOOOOOO!" And the sound of several bodies hitting the door echoed down the hall. Zoro and Luffy blinked at the door. After a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and a hand shot out, grabbed a confused Luffy by the shirt and pulled him through. Zoro stared open mouthed as the door snapped smartly shut again.

On the other side, every member of the straw-hat pirates had frozen. Usopp, Franky and Chopper were pressed against the door from when they'd dropped everything to stop Zoro from opening the door. Brooke had been left holding one end of a large "Happy Birthday" banner which he'd been putting up with Usopp, balancing precariously on a ladder that had been held by Chopper. Sanji was at a large barbeque he'd bought the day before, large chunks of Sea King meat sizzling on it. Robin was wrapping six presents up at the same time using her Devil Fruit powers, Ace grudgingly helping her. And, holding Luffy by his shirt, Nami crouched by the door, whispering furiously in Luffy's ear.

"Luffy, you need to distract Zoro for a few hours!" She hissed. Luffy pouted.

"Huh? But I want to help!" He complained. A tick appeared on Nami's forehead.

"Yeah, but this is meant to be a _surprise_ party." She said. "Which means if Zoro walks out on us setting it up, the surprise will be ruined." Luffy put his fist in his hand.

"Ah! So it's a mystery party!" Nami stared at him, before nodding.

"Sure, let's go with that." With that, she pushed him back through the door, shutting it as Luffy stumbled into Zoro's chest.

Zoro caught Luffy, looking down at him in surprise.

"What was that about?" He asked suspiciously. Luffy avoided eye contact as he started mumbling.

"Nothing… Let's go to bed…" He said. The taller man raised an eyebrow, both at his captains obvious lying and his out of character request.

"Huh? Weren't you sleeping most of the night?" He asked, neglecting to mention that he himself had slept all the way through guard duty as well.

"But I'm still tired…" Luffy mumbled, still lying. Zoro sighed. He was a crap liar, and Zoro instantly knew that there was something going on. The whole crew had been hiding something from him, but when Luffy took his hand and looked at him with those familiar, shining eyes, he couldn't help but let his captain drag him to the men's quarters.

A couple of hours later, Usopp and Sanji peeked into the men's quarters. Sanji snorted when they saw Luffy and Zoro, tangled around each other in an almost suffocating way.

"Zoro's surprisingly clingy…" Usopp noted, as Zoro tightened his grip around the ball of rubber. Sanji shrugged, walking towards the sofa and placing his foot on Zoro's face.

"Oi, Marimo…" He growled, pushing down. A tick appeared on Zoro's forehead.

"What, Shitty love cook?" He growled, reaching for one of his swords. Before he could retaliate, however, Luffy was sitting up.

"Sanji!" He called happily. "Food, food!" Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah… come on…" He grumbled. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Zoro's scowl, and mentally sniggered. The Marimo was getting really possessive.

"Yah!" Luffy cried as he stood up, dragging Zoro behind him. Usopp and Sanji exchanged looks. The next couple of minutes could result in either a great party, or all of them – apart from perhaps Luffy – dead.

Luffy dragged Zoro up to the deck eagerly, either because of the party or because of the food. Probably both…

"Zoro! Hurry up!" Luffy called over his shoulder to his first mate, who sighed, before picking his captain up and slinging him across his shoulder. Every so often, it was nice to go at your own pace.

As Zoro reached the door to the deck, Usopp braced himself. This was the moment of truth. Right now, he was gonna live or die. He held his breath, moving unconsciously behind Sanji, who smiled gently without realising it.

Zoro noticed the two in his peripheral vision, and rolled his eyes as he pushed open the door. He was prevented from commenting, however, by the huge cheer of "Surprise!" as him and Luffy were showered by confetti, silly string and the various insides of huge, rocket like Party Poppers. Zoro blinked at the expectant, occasionally fearful faces, before glancing at Luffy, still dangling across his broad shoulder, who grinned up at him. Zoro stared at his innocent yet mischievous face for seconds that felt like minutes, before doing something most of the crew had never heard him do, something that only the insane, intense, ever-changing life as member of the Straw-hat pirates and his brilliant, slow, determined, loyal, ferocious, loving captain could achieve.

He laughed. He laughed loud and long, doubling up as a single fat tear of mirth found its way down his cheek. He laughed harder then he could ever remember. He laughed for the life he had led ever since Luffy had stood in front of him and asked – no, _demanded _– him to join his then non-existent crew. He laughed for the exiting life he led, the opportunities he'd been given, the friends he'd – grudgingly – accepted, the freedom he revelled in, and the feeling of intense, mysterious love for the man currently swinging on his shoulder, laughing – not because he knew what was going on, but because Zoro was laughing, which was as good a reason as any.

After all, his Nakama were happy, and what more did a Captain want?

Nami sighed as she leant against the side of the ship, laughing. Seven hours in, the party – although at this point it was more like a clash of cultures merged into one great big fun rubber ball, then sealed with the glitter glue that was Monkey D. Luffy, who, at the moment, resembled a glitter-covered rubber ball more then anything else as he ran around the ship, leaving floating clouds of glitter in his wake – was still in full swing, and didn't look to be settling down any time soon. Zoro was watching from where he sat against the mast, laughing whenever Luffy covered an unsuspecting Straw-hat in glitter when he enveloped them in a huge bear hug. In fact, Zoro had barely stopped laughing throughout the evening, and was the main cause of Luffy's mad hugging spree – when he had laughed the first time when Luffy had covered Usopp in the sticky glitter, Luffy had gained an evil glint in his eyes Nami would have been proud of. It seemed Luffy's aim for the evening was to get Zoro to laugh as much as possible, as if it was a limited time offer.

Then again, it probably was…

Off to one side, a sparkly, red-faced Usopp hung off of one of Sanji's arms, the other arm still expertly flipping Sea King burgers on the grill.

"Oi, Sanji! Come eat the rainbow muffins of doom!" Usopp yelled, his words slurring into each other. Sanji stared at him.

"O- Oi, Usopp, are you _drunk_?" He asked sceptically. After all, all he'd seen Usopp drink was the – non-alcoholic – punch he'd set out for anyone who wasn't a raging alcoholic. Sanji filled up a glass with the red liquid, taking a sip. His refined cooks tongue sensed something no-one else could, and his eye twitched as he looked for the culprit. Realising what had happened, Robin carefully poured away her drink, before 'accidentally' tipping Chopper and Luffy's drinks over. Yeah. Accidentally. With the use of her devil fruit powers. Franky grinned as he watched – he was fine, he'd been drinking coke the whole time – before scooping up Wado, who was curiously sniffing the spilt punch. The last thing they needed was a drunken puppy, especially one who was strong enough to drag Luffy out of a lake by himself. An extremely glittery Ace – who was a victim of Luffy's hugs whenever he was there anyway – just laughed from where he stood, clutching a flagon of Sake.

The Straw-hats and Ace spent a next entertaining ten minutes watching Sanji attempt to murder Brooke – "Although I'm already dead! Yohohoho!" – with a large spatula. Eventually, however, Nami stepped in, mentioning presents. Zoro – who'd been making a comment about how Usopp was a lightweight – looked up at this. The crew stared at him, and then started when he seemed to disappear right before their eyes.

"Woah! Fast!"

Nami's eye twitched when, within seconds, they heard weights clinking up in the crows nest.

"Luuuuuuffy…" She called, and whispered in his ear. Luffy grinned.

"Ok!" He yelled, brushing the last of the glitter off onto Chopper, and heading up to the crows nest.

"Zoooro!" Luffy called as he stuck his head through the door into the crows nest. He grinned when he saw his swordsman, shirt off, a decent sweat already built up. He was already completely immersed in training, and Luffy almost didn't want to stop him.

"ZOOOOOOROOOOO!"

Almost.

Zoro yelled in surprise as Luffy landed on him, shouting at the top of his voice.

"What the hell?" He snapped angrily at the man sitting triumphantly on his chest like a cat sitting on a large fish.

"You've got to come open you presents!" Luffy answered, looking at him. While his mouth was grinning, his chocolate eyes were chillingly serious; enough to make Zoro calm down and answer him honestly.

"I don't like presents. I've worked for everything I've got, so accepting something for nothing feels… I don't know, like I'm cheating myself…" He answered, sitting up. Luffy slid down, landing awkwardly in his lap. Not bothering to right himself, he looked up at Zoro.

"Not even mine?" He asked. Zoro winced. Luffy was using _that_ trick; the trick he used to use on Sanji to get more meat before the man heartlessly became immune to it; the trick he used occasionally on Robin – who had a surprising weak spot for cute things – when he wanted her to tell him a story from one of her many books. It was the trick where his eyes suddenly became bigger then Wado's, and sparkled innocently with hurt, betrayed feelings. It made his entire face look softer and rounder, and Zoro wasn't cold-hearted enough to turn him down.

"Fine." He snapped grudgingly, and Luffy grinned, breaking the illusion of softness and innocence. He bounced up and shouted down to the crew.

"He's comiiiiiing!" Zoro let himself be dragged back down by the cheerful hurricane. Just before they reached the deck, however, Luffy turned and placed a small kiss on Zoro's cheek. Zoro stumbled onto the deck, his face beet-root red, and Luffy giggled mischievously behind him as he was captured by Nami and an unsteady Usopp and led to a lumpy pile covered by a spare sail. He was forced to sit down, and Wado was plunked on his lap.

Chopper's was the first present he received, and the reindeer received a large amount of friendly laughter, even from Zoro himself, when Zoro unwrapped the squishy package to find a long roll of bandages. Chopper blinked, confused by the laughter, but decided it was a good thing if his present made everyone laugh.

Nami's was the second present, and Zoro blushed when he saw it, before hastily shoving it back in it's wrappings, and refused to answer any questions about it. Brooke's was next, and he gleefully produced a Tone Dial he'd managed to buy in town, filled with various songs he claimed would help set a beat while Zoro trained. Zoro responded with a gentle nudge to Brooke's shoulder-bone, which Usopp later confirmed – when he was a little more sober – was Zoro-speak for 'Thank you, I love it'. Sanji's present was the food itself, which, for once, Zoro couldn't grudge him for; Sea monster meat was expensive, since they were so hard to kill.

Usopp presented his present with tipsy pride, and Zoro grinned when he saw it. It was a wooden structure to hold his three swords when he was asleep – he normally balanced them against his bed and more then once he had shot up in the night, awoken by the sound of his precious swords falling to the floor, which could break through even his deepest sleep.

Robin was next, and Zoro stared confused at her present.

"… A helmet?" Usopp asked, as confused as Zoro. Robin nodded, a serene smile tugging at her lips. The helmet was one which enveloped Zoro's entire head when he slipped it on, his eyes covered by a visor of dark glass, and was dark green, with tribal style patterns curling around it in black. He wondered if it was another joke – even Robin could make jokes sometimes, right? – before Franky uncovered his present. It was the biggest out of the lot, and resembled Smokers bike, except only with two wheels, and was painted a dark, shiny green. Whatever it was, it looked cool.

"I call it a "motor bike"!" Franky said, proudly. "It's based of the Logia type-powered bikes, but this is powered by cola!" Zoro grinned as he ran a hand over it.

"Wow! So cool!" Luffy yelled appreciatively as he jumped up and hung off Zoro's neck, his chin resting on his swordsman's shoulder. Zoro reached one hand up and knocked Luffy's hat back so he could ruffle the monkey's hair, receiving an indignant yelp.

"Zoro needs to open my present now!" Luffy announced, slipping off and grabbing Zoro's hand, before hugging his arm close, possessively, and casting a spookily serious look across the rest of the crew.

"But Zoro's blushing face is only for me." He said. Everyone froze at this uncustomary act of possession and insight. Zoro glanced at him, before sighing. He gently pulled his arm out of Luffy's death grip, before holding out his hand. Luffy looked at it for a few seconds, as if unsure what to do, before taking it, beaming up at Zoro.

"Come on, then." Zoro said calmly. "Let's go up to the crows nest." Luffy didn't wait for him t change his mind, charging across the deck, through the door and up the stairs quicker then you could say "Kaizouku ore wa naru". Zoro was deposited into one plush sofa before receiving a lap full of Luffy. Automatically he wrapped his arms around the slim man to keep him from jumping around too much as Wado caught up with his master, scrambling up next to them to curl up sleepily against Zoro's leg. Luffy dug into his pocket to pull out his own parcel, wrapped in deep red tissue paper. Zoro rested his head on Luffy's shoulder, worn out from the party, even though he had slept all the way to noon.

"You didn't have to get me something." He said lightly. Luffy shook his head.

"Nami said that couples are meant to treat each other as equals." He said. He reached down the neck of his shirt and pulled out the long necklace Zoro had bought him back at the fair. [1]

"See? You gave me this, so I have to give something back!" He stated. Zoro blushed lightly, making Luffy smile. He handed Zoro the present, and Zoro had to unwrap his arms from Luffy to take and open the small gift. He smiled when he saw it.

"That's pretty cool…" He said, examining the dragon embossed on it. [2] Luffy nodded.

"Isn't it?" Zoro slipped the chain over his head, letting it rest on his shirt. As he took his hand away, he noticed the catch, and prised it open. He laughed lightly when he saw the photo inside the flat disk. Luffy had somehow managed to get the picture of the two of them and Wado sleeping on the deck [3] off of Nami, and slipped it in. Zoro closed the locket and ruffled Luffy's hair again. It was turning into something of a favourite pastime – his fingers passed through the silky black strands with a comforting rhythm, and he eventually settled to stroking Luffy's hair, content to spend at least a little peaceful time alone with his hyper lover. Luffy, however, seemed to have other ideas, and he leaned forward, disrupting Zoro's comfortable position as he stretched to look out one of the large windows.

"Hey, isn't that Helen?" He asked curiously. Grumbling underneath his breath, Zoro turned to see. It was indeed Helen, walking quickly towards the ship from the direction of the town, limping slightly, both arms wrapped tightly around something that flashed with golden light whenever it caught the light of the now setting sun.

Helen paused as she reached the brightly coloured ship, panting heavily, before looking over her shoulder. She had spent the entire of last night and most of that day hiding out and trying to loose her pursuers, before making her way to the coast she had pointed out to Zoro and Luffy the day before on the map [4], confident that they would have docked there. She was not disappointed, but at that point, she was too tired to care. Her leg ached from where she had landed on it funny when she jumped out of her window, but she was the first to say she had had worst. She could almost hear the voices of her mother, berating her for walking on an injured leg for 20 hours… Yeah… in hind sight, not the smartest thing she'd ever done…

She was about to call up to the ship when a familiar black head popped over the side.

"HELEN!" Luffy called happily, a rope ladder dropping down in front of the girl. Tiredly she grabbed hold of it and let Zoro haul her up. The next few minutes went by in a blur, and suddenly she found herself in a gloriously warm kitchen, on a blissfully comfortable chair, with Wado on her lap, a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a couple of Sea-king burgers in front of her, caught between staring in terror at Brooke and trying hard not to squeal in the presence of Portgas D. Ace, captain of the Whitebeard pirate's Second Division, while Luffy animatedly explained who she was.

It occurred to her that she probably looked more worn out then she thought she did, and she let Luffy make the introductions as she worked on not falling asleep. The golden statue was still clasped securely in one arm, and when she finally relinquished her hold in it, the bird's wings were imprinted on her skin.

"I… um, I've got a favour to ask of you…" Helen said quietly, as if unsure how to approach the subject. The crew looked at her, a familiar glint entering Nami's eyes. Helen set the bird statue on the table, and gripped it, twisting the head, before it unscrewed, revealing a hollow inside. Luffy crowed in delight as he craned his neck to see as Helen took out a grey item, shaped like the end of a key. Licking her lips nervously, she handed it to Luffy, who took it with curious glee, twisint it in his hands as he examined it. Helen slowly closed the bird up again.

"That is a piece of rock that was found hundreds of years ago." She startred to explain. "The original rock it comes from has been destroyed, but that piece, and three others like it, remains." Nodding as she listened, Robin leant across to take the piece from Luffy.

"What exactly is it?" She asked. Helen directed her focus to Robin.

"Well, this piece is a "Fear controller"." She explained. "It's one of the reasons the people on this island can act efficiently and safely when a storm comes around. The other three pieces, though, have different properties. I'm not sure what they are, but I think it has something to do with motivation."

"Motivation?" Robin looked up from examining the stone, and put it down. Helen nodded.

"You see, when these four pieces come together, they create a… Well, it's not a weapon, but can be used as one." She continued. "It's hard to explain, but, basically, when the four pieces are joined together, they can change everything you fight for…"

The crew stared at her. Everything they fought for?

"… I see." Robin said. "Do you know anything else about it." Helen shook her head.

"Sorry… there are four of us protecting these pieces, and we're only told a little information each. It's to reduce the chance the four pieces are joined."

"That's all very well," Nami interrupted. "But what do you want us to do about it?"

"I want you to gather up the other three pieces and destroy them." Helen answered. "I would do it myself, but I'm not exactly strong… I would be an easy target." Seeing the wary and confused faces of the crew, Helen related what happened back at the store to them.

"At first, I thought it was a normal robbery, but couldn't let them get this, which is why I ran." She said. "But when they followed me for most of the night, I'll admit, I started to rethink my original idea…" She said, and lauged shakily. Nami smiled.

"I see… Well, Miss Helen," she said, standing up. "We'll be happy to do this, for a p-"

"We'll do this for free." Everyone turned to look at the speaker. Nami frowned.

"Luffy!" She snapped. "What're you-" She stopped when Luffy looked up at her, deadly serious.

"We'll do it for free." He repeated. Helen smiled, unsure but grateful.

"Thank you… But can I ask one more, teeny favour?" She asked. Everyone returned their attention to her as she whipped out a notepad and pen from seemingly nowhere.

"Can I have an exclusive interview with the crews newest member?" She asked Brooke.

**A note from ME! ***giggles* What? She's a reporter! XD This chapter is really the introduction of the plot, and so it's quite deep, and I wanted to end it on a lighter note! Gasp! What is Luffy up to now? What does the other pieces of the key do? Who on earth is trying to get the pieces? Why did the chicken cross the road? Who really killed Bunny Foo Foo? Why does bread always land buttered side up? Why am I talking to myself?

By the way, none of the above will be revealed in the next chapter. Just saying. XD

[1] See chapter 4, First Date?

[2] See chapter 8, Missing Lovers and Blackmail

[3] See chapter 4, First Date?

[4] See chapter 9, Swirl Island


	12. Dresses and Ace and voices, oh my!

**A note from ME! **Tired now, talk later. *Snores*

**Chapter 12**

**Dresses and Ace and Voices, oh my.**

Usopp stood in the crows nest, leaning against the wall as he stared out across the sea. He smiled gently as he watched the sun gradually set, sending bright stripes of orange, pink and purple across the glittering ocean. Sure, look-out wasn't the funnest job in the world – in fact, it could be pretty boring most of the time – but moments like this, when it seemed that the entire world was settling down to sleep, laying aside weapons and vengeful feelings, just for a little while… It really made it worth it.

He sighed, tapping his head with his fist. He was turning into a real romantic sap. Luffy and Zoro's rapidly improving relationship had reminded the whole crew of their decidedly single status, and the fact that romance could be found in the most unlikely places. Franky and Robin, who had been exchanging silent laughs and knowing looks ever since Franky had joined the crew, had finally decided to ponder the option of an actual relationship, although they weren't actually going out yet. Chopper wasn't interested, Brooke said that he'd had plenty of action in his day – Usopp shuddered at the thought – Nami was only interested in money, and Sanji seemed to be fine as long as he could serve 'his beautiful ladies'. Usopp shook his head, and chuckled.

"I wonder how Kaya is…" He thought out loud. "I should send a letter to her sometime…"

"Oi! Usopp!" The long-nosed teen was brought out of his revere abruptly, and he glanced down at the deck, far below the crows next, and blinked as he saw a familiar blonde head. Sanji held up a mug.

"Thought you'd might like some cocoa." The chef called up to him. Usopp smiled gratefully.

"Sure, I'll just climb down now!" He called back. Skilled and steady-footed, Usopp quickly descended, alighting next to Sanji and retrieving the warm mug with a blissful sigh, wrapping his cold hands around it in an attempt to grant them some feeling. Sanji shook his head.

"I don't get how you can climb up and down the rigging so easily…" He said, a bit envious. "I mean, I've lived on a ship all my life, and even now I'm not as fast as you…" Usopp shrugged as he took a sip of the cocoa.

"The village I used to live in," He started to explain as the two men walked to the side of the ship to lean against it. "Was near a large forest, and by the time I met Luffy, I'd climbed most of the trees there." He laughed. Sanji nodded in understanding.

"What was it like?" He asked. Usopp looked at him, not understanding the question.

"Living in a village." Sanji elaborated. "I spent most of my life in the restaurant, with people at least ten years older then me." Usopp smiled.

"It was… peaceful." He answered, looking in front of him as he took a sip from the mug. "Nothing ever happened until Luffy came. I decided then that I needed to get out if I wanted to get stronger…" He trailed off, looking out at the ocean. Sanji frowned at his sudden silence as he followed his gaze. There was nothing out in the sea, save the occasional dolphin, but it seemed Usopp was looking at something that wasn't even there. Maybe some long ago past, or the friend's he'd left back at his peaceful village.

"Do you know how Zoro and Luffy met?" Usopp asked suddenly. Sanji looked at him, shaking his head.

"I've never bothered asking Marimo-head, and Luffy never sits still long enough to tell anyone anything." He answered. "Besides, you know him. He doesn't bother living in the past." Usopp chuckled, nodding his head slightly.

"Me and Nami asked Zoro just before we met you." He said, looking at Sanji. "He said 'some insane kid almost got killed saving me.' and walked off." Sanji laughed.

"That sounds like Luffy." He said contemplatively. Usopp nodded.

"What about you then?" He asked. "What was a life with rowdy chefs like?" He asked, laughing. As the two talked, neither noticed the pair of large brown eyes watching them, or the camera recording their conversation. Nami smirked.

"I'm going to make so much money…" She whispered to herself with glee. "If it's not these two, then it's Zoro and Luffy…"

In the indoor crows nest, Luffy sneezed, and Zoro looked at him, putting down the dumbbell he was lifting.

"You 'kay?" He asked, grabbing a towel. "That's the third time you've sneezed in the last minute…" Luffy shook his head, and smiled broadly.

"I'm fine!" He exclaimed. "Someone must really like me, if they talk about me that much!" He laughed, and Zoro shook his head.

"Oi, pass me that weight." He instructed, pointing. Luffy looked around, spotted the large weight his green-haired friend meant, and picked it up. He staggered as he discovered just how heavy it was. Zoro's strength still amazed him sometimes, despite travelling together for so long. Luffy wasn't weak – the opposite, in fact – but in physical strength, Zoro beat him every time. He was still the better fighter though. After all, he _was_ the captain! The captain had to be the best fighter to look after his family.

"Here you go!" He said, stumbling to where Zoro stood, sorting out his dumbbells. He nodded; taking the weight with one hand like it was nothing, he slipped it onto the dumbbell with the other weights. Luffy returned to the sofa, but, growing restless, left comfortable seat in favour of finding something more fun for him to do without leaving the room. He climbed nimbly up and over the rack holding some of Zoro's weights, slipped underneath a dumbbell being held up by thick wooden support, hung off the pole Zoro used for Pull-ups, crawled between the taller man's feet as he continued to pump weights, hung out of the window, looked through the telescope, spun round a few times, and sat down in the middle of the room, pouting.

He was so bored! And it didn't look like Zoro was going to relieve his boredom…

He looked out of the window. The sun had completely set now, but Luffy didn't feel tired enough to go to sleep, still pumped up from the party. He looked around again, but paused when he spotted something interesting. He pounced on the object, slipping through Zoro's feet again as he did so, but the man didn't even flinch. Luffy picked up the loosely tied package, looking at it thoughtfully as his brain tried to place it.

"Ah! Zoro! This is your present from Nami!" He cried as inspiration struck. Behind him, a clunk echoed through the room, and he turned. Zoro had dropped his weights, which had all decided to fall off of the dumbbell, and was now hurrying to collect them all up again, his face burning red. Luffy blinked at him, before turning back to the package.

"What did she get you, anyway?" He asked as he started to undo it. Zoro leapt into action, trying to retrieve the parcel before Luffy could open it.

"Nothing! It's nothing! It's…" He trailed off as Luffy finished unwrapping it, and blinked. He held the material up in front of his face, looking at the gift, as Zoro's blush deepened spectacularly. Luffy tilted his head, before looking at Zoro.

"Why are you embarrassed?" He asked, Zoro stared at him in shock, but before he could say anything, Luffy continued.

"It'll look great on you!"

"Idiot!" Zoro shot, whacking his captain upside the head, not putting any real force into it. Luffy laughed as his head bounced back, before pouting as Zoro started blushing again.

"It's not for _me_ to wear…" The swordsman started to growl. "Nami's more perverted then that crap cook… It's meant to be for you to wear…" He looked away. "I didn't pick it, okay! I didn't even know she was going to-" He stopped as a red sleeveless shirt landed on his head, and started to pull it off.

"Don't look!" Luffy cried quickly, shoving the top back down over his first mates head. Zoro blinked in the reddish dark.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" He asked. There were a couple of crashes, each one making Zoro wince, before silence.

"Okay, you can look now…" Luffy said, wavering slightly. Sighing, Zoro took Luffy's shirt off of his face, shaking his head.

"Luffy, what were you…" He trailed off, staring at his younger lover, who stood in the centre of the room, the slightest hint of a blush dusting his face for the first time Zoro could remember, dressed in the maid outfit Nami had deviously bought Zoro.

"Lu- Luffy!" Zoro stuttered, turning his head in an attempt to protect Luffy's 'manly pride', his face burning red in embarrassment for his friend. Luffy pouted as Zoro looked away.

"Zoro…" He whined, elongating his vowels. He didn't put on the dress just for Zoro to look away from him, after all! "Zoro, look! Look! Look!" He cried, poking his first mate as he sat ungracefully on Zoro's lap. At this, if possible, Zoro's blush grew darker, but he still kept his head turned defiantly away.

"Zooooorooooo!"

Outside the room, Nami – who had reluctantly left the Sanji-and-Usopp scene to tell Zoro and Luffy to keep the noise down since everyone else was just about to go to sleep – smirked as she figured out what was happening. Why did she leave her camera on the deck?

Ace smiled as he put his hammer down, observing his boat. It wasn't finished, and even when it was, it wouldn't be perfect or hold permanently, and it would need a lick of paint above all, but it would last until he got back to the ship. Wiping a smudge of oil off of his cheek, he looked up at the horizon. The straw-hat ship was almost completely out of sight, and the fire-user wouldn't have known it was his little brother's ship if he hadn't been keeping half an eye on it ever since it had set sail. Ace sighed as he sat down next to the skeleton of his fire-powered boat, watching as the ship slid out of view. Snorting, he fell back to lie down, looping his arms under his head. He had been working in a lightly wooded area, blocked from the village and marines, but still able to observe his surroundings, so now he could see sprinkles of stars poking through the leaves of the trees. He smiled. In the morning he'd continue to work on his boat, but for the moment it was too late for him to continue. Sighing, Ace stood up and plucked his hat from the branch he'd hung it. Putting it on and stretching, Ace turned around, and walked straight into a muscled, bare chest, his hat falling back and hanging on his neck.

"Smokey!" The man greeted, smirking. Smoker looked down at the pirate.

"There you are." He muttered. "I thought you'd have gone with your brother." Ace grinned hopefully.

"Aw! Were you looking for me, Smokey?" Smoker snorted.

"No. I was making sure that Straw-hat had left the island." He bit. Ace's grin turned into a caring smile.

"Yeah. They left the island a few hour's ago." He explained, turning back to look at the horizon as if he could still see the ship on the line between sea and sun. Smoker nodded in acceptance, and turned away.

"Where you staying tonight?" He asked, not looking at Ace. The older D. brother stared at his older lover, stunned. If he didn't know better, he'd say the Marine sounded worried… He grinned.

"Can I stay with you?" He asked, jumping up and grabbing Smokers arm. Smoker scowled at the pirate.

"No."

"Please? I could cook for you!"

"I don't need you to cook; I'll eat at the Marine cafeteria."

"I could keep you warm in bed!"

"Even more reason not to let you stay."

"Smooooookey!"

"No!"

There was darkness, and cold. And pain. She mustn't forget the pain.

Helen wished she could say she'd been through worse, but as she scrabbled at the beefy hands around her throat, she couldn't think of ever being in this much pain.

"Where is it?" A distorted voice asked, and Helen turned her blindfolded eyes to the source. The hand dropped her, and the deep voice of her had-been captor spoke up.

"Answer our lord." It said. Helen gritted her teeth.

"You're too late." She gasped. "It's already heading out to South Blue on a merchant ship." Hoping they didn't realise she was lying through her teeth, Helen listened, praying they'd leave. She jumped when something soft and cool brushed her cheek, and the distorted voice spoke again.

"She's lying. It's with pirates heading to the next island. Come." Helen tried to sit up, to protest, protect Luffy and the others, but something collided with a sickening crack against the back of her head and, seeing colours flash behind her eyelids, she toppled over.


End file.
